Officers deny man assaulted in arrest

Police accused of excessive force in 2012 incident

An Edmonton man testifying against two Edmonton police officers charged with assault told court they punched and kicked him on the ground, then beat him some more once he was handcuffed.

Const. Barry Fairhurst, 37, and Const. David Olsson, 39, have each pleaded not guilty to assault after they were accused of using excessive force during a September 2012 arrest.

Mark Gamroth, 50, testified he was drunk and angry when the two officers showed up at his Abbottsfield neighbourhood home in the early morning hours.

Belligerently, Gamroth told the officers to leave. The argument escalated, Gamroth said. He was not armed.

“Next thing I know, I turned my head one way and I got suckerpunched in the face,” Gamroth told court. “My knees were kicked out from under me and I kind of buckled. I went down.”

Gamroth testified that Fairhurst and Olsson punched and kicked him numerous times as he lay on the ground and attempted to protect himself. He was handcuffed, brought to his feet and punched three more times. “The two cops took me by each side of the head and rammed me face-first into the police car,” Gamroth said.

He claimed the officers called him a “stinking aboriginal, a stinking drunk” on the way to a north-end police station, which Fairhurst denied.

Fairhurst testified he “stunned” Gamroth numerous times because he feared for his safety and needed to control the “strong and determined” man who refused all directions.

Fairhurst struck Gamroth in the face the first time, the officer said, after Gamroth smacked his hand away during the arrest.

“It was the most difficult altercation I’ve ever been involved with as a police officer,” Fairhurst said. “He was extremely agitated. I did not feel safe at all.”

Fairhurst said Gamroth assaulted the officers several times during the arrest, including an attempt to break Olsson’s fingers. However, he told court, none of those details were in his original notes or report on the incident.

Earlier that night, Gamroth’s daughter called police when he drunkenly refused to leave her downtown home. She called 911 and Gamroth can be heard making aggressive comments about confronting police in the background.

Gamroth admitted he drove home drunk from his daughter’s home. The officers went to Gamroth’s home that morning to investigate his impaired driving. Gamroth was charged with resisting arrest after the incident. That charge has since been withdrawn. rcormier@edmontonjournal.com