SIU won’t probe Byward brawl
Suspects’ injuries not serious enough to warrant watchdog probe, police say
The province’s Special Investigations Unit has confirmed it will not investigate the use of force by Ottawa police in a weekend ByWard Market incident because the suspects arrested suffered only “minor injuries.”
After reading weekend media accounts of the violent arrest and watching a video of the incident posted on YouTube by a bystander, an SIU supervisor contacted the Ottawa Police Service’s executive office to see if the details of the case were enough to trigger an investigation by the arms-length oversight agency under the Police Services Act.
The video appears to show a group of officers bringing a man to the ground. The man covers his head with his arms as he makes contact with the pavement. Then one officer, a central division patrol constable, punches the grounded man in what appears to be the head and upper body at least 10 times in quick succession.
Ottawa police assurance to the SIU about the nature of the suspects’ injuries means the incident lies outside the SIU’s mandate to probe cases where police are involved in serious injury, sexual assault or death.
The one-minute video does not show how the altercation started, but Ottawa police said the incident began when officers responded to a call for service at a Clarence Street bar at 11:55 p.m. Friday. Police said officers found a man using a metal lineup pole to assault security staff at Tequila Jacks bar.
“As the officers were responding to this incident a second man reached over the crowd and punched a constable in the left eye and nose, cutting him in the process,” police said in a news release issued Saturday after media reported on the video, an account corroborated by Tequila Jacks owner Brett Starke in an interview with the Citizen.
The officer depicted punching the suspect in the video has not been reassigned and is on active duty, the Ottawa police professional standards section confirmed Monday.
Meanwhile, the Citizen has learned that hours after Chief Charles Bordeleau publicly initiated a review to examine all the facts surrounding the incident, he sent an internal email to the force’s rank-andfile saying he maintains every confidence in his officers.
In the email, sent Saturday afternoon, Bordeleau provided officers with a copy of the news release about the incident before it was issued.
“I wanted to email all of you to remind you that your work is appreciated by our community and vital to the safety of its residents,” Bordeleau wrote.
“The job of a police officer is a difficult one and we all know that enhanced scrutiny is a fact in our role.
“Always remember that the public has confidence in you and that you have my confidence and respect for the service you provide every day.”
On Saturday morning after news of the video had spread, Bordeleau told the Citizen that “if there is anybody that feels like they have been inappropriately dealt with by the police service, they can approach us and file a complaint.”
Despite substantial social media attention to the story, Insp. Joan McKenna of the professional standards section said not a single public complaint about the incident had been formally filed as of Monday morning.
Eye-witness Kira-Lynn Ferderber, who didn’t see the events leading to the man’s grounding in the video but said she did see the officer response depicted in the video, was disturbed by what she thought was an excessive response by police.
In the hours after the incident, Ferderber began tweeting at media outlets notifying them of the video. She then launched a Twitter campaign demanding answers, repeatedly tweeting at Bordeleau, Ottawa police and Mayor Jim Watson, asking if other witnesses’ phones had been confiscated by the officers who were at the scene Friday night.
Bordeleau responded to her Sunday night via Twitter, saying, “Not that I am aware of. The review will look at that.”
Ferderber has also asked for the release of the officer’s name, something Ottawa police union president Matt Skof said Monday he hopes to avoid.
“These are members of your community. These officers are coaches, they’re volunteers, they’re your neighbours, your sons, your daughters,” Skof said. “The scrutiny becomes very personal when names are published.”
Ottawa defence lawyer Michael Spratt said the police service’s withholding of the officer’s name, while releasing the names of the two men charged, represents a double standard.
Skof said the incident, which he believes is exacerbated by the recent high- profile police- involved shooting death of teenager Sammy Yatim in Toronto, highlights that Ottawa Police Service needs to proactively explain to the public its useof-force guidelines.
“There’s a misconception of how we’re supposed to react.”
Both 21-year-old suspects arrested by police have been charged.
Balkaran Bajwa is charged with causing a disturbance, assaulting a peace officer, uttering threats and resisting arrest.
Gohar Ali is charged with causing a disturbance, assault with a weapon and obstructing a peace officer.
Neither has a criminal record.
Ali was granted bail over the weekend, and Bajwa was to appear in court Monday afternoon. Though Bajwa, the man on the receiving end of the punches in the video, has not been previously charged with criminal offences, police sources say he is well known to police and is believed to be associated with gang members.
The violent arrest comes with one week left in a three-month period of increased patrols in the ByWard Market, which the police call one of the city’s “hot spots.”
The additional officers were told by superiors to have a “zero tolerance” policy on infractions large or small.