‘Total chaos’ before officer punched man
KITCHENER — A man arrested for public intoxication was “grunting and spitting” and totally out of control before a Waterloo Regional Police sergeant punched him several times, the officer’s trial was told on Wednesday.
Sgt. Paul Tranter, 53, has pleaded not guilty to assault causing bodily harm.
The Special Investigations Unit charged him for punching unarmed Jaime McFayden, 44, during a scuffle in the booking area of the Kitchener police detachment on March 5, 2020. One punch broke a bone in McFayden’s face.
Lisa Ambrose, a special constable at the time, had dealt with McFayden before and testified he was always “belligerent and angry.”
When he was brought into the police station this time, she told Tranter, “This is going to be a s— show.”
And it was, she said. After McFayden’s handcuffs were removed, “it was total chaos.” Ambrose said.
Several officers were involved in the melee, which was caught on police security video and shown in court.
The moment McFayden arrived at the station, his body language “didn’t look good,” testified special constable Randell Palomeque.
Shortly after, “he was defiant and pushing into all of us,” she said. “He was grunting and spitting.” McFayden reached for Const. Jesse Tamayo’s throat and his duty belt, which held a firearm, baton, pepper spray and Taser, she said.
Tranter, who is suspended with pay, previously testified McFayden was belligerent and assaulting Tamayo.
Police took McFayden to the ground, but he continued to fight. That’s when Tranter punched him.
“He was a very large guy, definitely over 200 pounds,” Palomeque said of McFayden. “And he was just insanely strong.”
Tranter said he acted to defend Tamayo and restore control.
Defence lawyer Bernard Cummins asked Tranter on Wednesday if he has a duty to protect fellow officers. “Yes, I do,” he said. After Tranter threw the punches, McFayden “started to calm down,” Ambrose said.
He later told officers he planned to sue them, she said.
Crown prosecutor Rebecca De Filippis previously suggested Tranter’s punches were unnecessary and unreasonable.
“It was necessary. And it was reasonable,” Tranter replied.
Const. Blair McKay had previous dealings with McFayden.
“He’s always been aggressive, volatile, vulgar,” he testified.
McKay escorted McFayden to Grand River Hospital after the scuffle. McFayden had a swollen eye and dried blood on his face.
At the hospital, McFayden was handcuffed to a stretcher but still tried to grab the officer’s duty belt, McKay said. He said McFayden also threatened to find his address and harm him and said, “Why don’t you take these handcuffs off and fight me like a man?”
Police arrested McFayden for public intoxication after finding him walking in the middle of King Street in downtown Kitchener.
Tranter’s trial is now on a long break, resuming in November.