Edmonton officer faces charges over 2019 arrest

EDMONTON Edmonton police have charged one of their own with assault for jumping knee-first onto a man during an arrest last August.

The charge stems from a video of an arrest Aug. 27, 2019, in the area of 115 Avenue and 95 Street.

Police say they received the video two days after the arrest took place, and a Professional Standards Branch investigation found “the level of force described in the police report was not consistent with the force observed in the video.”

In the video, a man is seen lying face down in the grass, held by one officer. A second approaches and jumps on the man on the ground, appearing to hit him with his knee.

The man on the ground cries out “OK! OK! Stop!”

The second officer appears to lean with his knee on the man’s neck and shoulder area, while the first officer then bends over and yells, “Do not run from the police!”

One of the officers can be heard calling the man a “mother------” and saying “did you think I wouldn’t catch you?”

In a second video the man being arrested continues crying while officers ask him for his name and search him. When the officers get him to his feet, he says, “What is your f------ problem?”

In March, the case was referred to the Crown prosecutor’s office in Calgary to determine if a charge was warranted, and a charge was recommended Friday.

On Tuesday, Const. Michael Partington was charged with one count of assault.