Family of man injured during arrest calls for independent investigation
Officer allegedly seen kneeing suspect while he was already on the ground
Family and friends of a man injured during an arrest in Regina that was caught on video want an independent investigation into the incident.
Supporters of Rocky Dean Lonechild gathered in a courtroom at Regina provincial court on Thursday when the 34-year-old appeared on a series of charges, including an obstruction of justice and breach laid on Dec. 13, when the arrest occurred. Speaking to reporters outside court, the group detailed their concerns with what they saw in the videotaped arrest and comments subsequently made by the Regina Police Service (RPS).
“I don’t trust the Regina Police Service to investigate themselves,” read a statement from Lonechild’s father Lawrence Bigeagle, as read by Bob Hughes with the Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism.
“So as his father, I’m asking for a third-party investigation that is not done by the Regina Police
Service but an independent investigator. My son did not deserve to be kneed four times after he was already on the ground and arrested … I am still in shock when I see the video. We thought we were watching the cops kill our son.”
After the video became public this week, both the RPS and Public Complaints Commission — a non-police body appointed by government — launched investigations. The PCC can conduct the investigation itself, have another agency investigate or have the RPS conduct the investigation with PCC oversight.
The video, captured by a home security camera, shows three officers chasing a man and tackling him to the ground in front of a house. Once the man is on the ground, seemingly held there by at least two of the officers, a fourth officer runs over. In motions partially obscured by a hedgerow, the officer can be seen three times swinging one bent leg back and forth toward the man on the ground.
Lonechild’s family — who first heard about the incident through media reports — says he suffered serious injuries, including broken ribs and a collapsed lung that required surgery and a stay in hospital. During Thursday’s court appearance, Lonechild — appearing via CCTV from the Regina jail — appeared to cradle his ribs.
Like Bigeagle, Lonechild’s mother Deanna Lonechild said she was shocked by what she saw.
“I was scared for my son’s life …,” Deanna said in a statement, as read by supporter Carmel Crowchild who went to the RPS Monday to make a complaint after seeing the video on social media. “I am worried for Rocky. I can’t help but to worry if he is getting the proper medical care for his lungs and broken ribs. My son did not deserve this. He was already arrested.”
She also asked for a third-party investigation, “so that an unbiased examination of facts can determine the truth.”
Earlier this week, Chief Evan Bray told reporters that officers had been dispatched early in the morning of Dec. 13 to a report of males rushing into a home with what the caller believed to be firearms. They exited the house and left the scene in a vehicle. After officers stopped a “suspect vehicle,” four people were arrested, but one person fled on foot. According to Bray, those arrested told officers the person who fled was high on meth.
Officers set up a perimeter, located and arrested the man, as caught on camera.
Bray told reporters, “I don’t think I can determine by watching that video whether or not the approved or trained techniques were used. That’s something that will come back through the investigation.”
Hughes questioned the use of force and Bray’s comments.
“I would hope that knee drops on someone that is laying prone and not struggling is not part of the training for the Regina Police Service,” he said. “I would find that outrageously disgusting.”
Lonechild’s charges — which also include an unrelated break and enter allegation from Carlyle court — were set over to Friday.
— With files from Mark Melnychuk and Jennifer Ackerman hpolischuk@postmedia.com twitter.com/lpheatherp