Police web series triggers $1-million lawsuit

Security guard says home arrest ‘overly aggressive’ to hike drama

An Edmonton man and his partner have launched a $1-million lawsuit against Edmonton police officers for an arrest the plaintiffs say was performed for dramatic value as part of a short-lived web series.

In a statement of claim filed last week in Court of Queen’s Bench, Christopher Conlin and Tina Barton allege Conlin’s arrest at their Edmonton home in April 2013 was carried out by officers who were “overly aggressive ... to increase the entertainment value of The Squad.”

Statements of claim contain allegations that have not been proven in court.

The Edmonton Police Service launched an experimental reality Internet series in 2013 featuring officers as they responded to calls and patrolled the city streets. The internally produced videos were intended to “connect with the public” and show the realities of police work, EPS said at the time.

However, the concept immediately drew criticism, with some suggesting the model was inappropriate “infotainment” and others raising privacy concerns for those who didn’t sign waivers to appear in the videos (their faces were blurred out).

The Squad was cancelled after only two episodes aired.

Two years ago, Conlin was working as a loss prevention officer at Wal-Mart and had a provincial licence for the job and to carry a baton, the lawsuit says.

In his statement of claim, Conlin states he called police on April 15, 2013, after a shoplifter pulled out a knife. He says he called police a second time that day after arresting another shoplifter.

Conlin says an officer saw him carrying a baton — and eight days later the officer applied for a search warrant for Conlin’s house seeking to find police identification, a police-style baton, a police duty belt and other items linked to police work.

Conlin alleges the officer used false or misleading information to obtain the search warrant.

On April 23, five officers and a cameraman for The Squad went to Conlin’s house and arrested him on charges of “personating a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, and assault with a weapon.”

“(The officer) had no reasonable grounds to believe that and any belief he did have was based on a negligent investigation,” reads the statement of claim.

Conlin’s house was searched by four officers while his children were present, according to the statement of claim. Police seized items such as earpieces, a flashlight, notebook, military vest, tactical pouches and a BB gun.

Conlin said he was taken to police headquarters and said officers used dramatic language, knowing they were being filmed and recorded for The Squad.

Conlin was released from custody about 20 hours later. The charges against him were dropped one year later, although he was fined under a non-criminal act for carrying a baton in a store that had no licence for him to do so.

Conlin claims he lost his job, his future job prospects, suffers post-traumatic stress disorder, and has suffered other financial and emotional consequences as a result of the arrest.

No statement of defence has yet been filed. azabjek@edmontonjournal.com twitter.com/a_zabjek

“(The officer) had no reasonable grounds to believe that.” STATEMENT OF CLAIM FILED BY CHRISTOPHER CONLIN