RCMP officer’s conduct under investigation
Video of violent Cold Lake arrest prompts probe
ACold Lake RCMP constable is under investigation after a video surfaced Tuesday of a violent arrest near the northern Alberta city over the weekend.
Three officers from the Cold Lake detachment responded around 1 a.m. Saturday to a complaint of 100 intoxicated people causing a disturbance in the parking lot of a community hall where a birthday party was being held, RCMP said Tuesday in a statement. Video of the arrest captured by an onlooker and uploaded to YouTube on Sunday shows an RCMP officer kicking a man in the face.
“The video shows the struggle, with two officers attempting to put two sets of cuffs on the subject, with one of the officers kicking the subject in the face with his right foot,” the statement says.
RCMP have launched an investigation into the officer’s conduct.
“I can assure Albertans, and those involved, that I have been made aware of the video and have ordered a full review,” RCMP Supt. Randy McGinnis said.
The officers were responding to a complaint from one of the party organizers who asked for help in dispersing the crowd. An intoxicated man refused to leave and became aggressive, RCMP said.
The man, 21-year-old Richard Claybert, says he had been at the birthday party and was planning to sleep in the camper attached to his pickup truck in the parking lot. He says RCMP told him he would have to find another way home and that truck would be towed and impounded.
“I got kind of frustrated, so I turned away to walk away from it,” said Claybert, who is hearing impaired. “And apparently the cop said as I was walking away that I was under arrest. I didn’t hear anything and my friends said they didn’t hear anything either.”
Claybert says he was pepper sprayed in the face and hit with a police baton on the back of his leg. Claybert continued to argue with the officers before he gave in, he said Tuesday.
About halfway through the video, Claybert turns his head toward the officers and shouts something that can’t be fully deciphered.
One of the officers then brings his leg forward and kicks Claybert in the face, eliciting a loud reaction from the crowd of onlookers. The officer then kicks him again.
Claybert said he suffered bruises to his face, the back of his leg and a rib. He said he is facing charges for public intoxication and resisting arrest and was released the following morning. He is slated to appear in Cold Lake provincial court on Oct. 24.