Calgary Cops caught using excessive force? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Otto-matic · 07-09-2016, 11:56 PM

Here is the video taken.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHoFWpUBbA8/

CPS issued a statement on Facebook regarding the event.

Quote:

Response To Video Circulating On Social Media
The Calgary Police Service is aware of a video that is circulating on social media today showing the arrest of a man in the downtown area yesterday evening.
Officers were conducting a walk-through of licensed premises in the area, when they were alerted by citizens to a situation unfolding in the street. The officers left the bar to determine what was occurring.
They were immediately approached by an aggressive man who refused to cooperate with their demands and then attempted to leave the area.
This man had exited his vehicle following a road rage incident involving a pedestrian, and refused police requests to provide information about his identity.
This video only captures a small portion of the interaction between the man and the officers and does not tell the full story.
This man was given a ticket for stunting after driving in an unsafe manner along the roadway and was released following his arrest.
The CPS encourages anyone with a concern to file a complaint with the Professional Standards Section.

https://www.facebook.com/CalgaryPoli...54330320064530

For me it looks like the right amount of force taken to subdue the guy, and like most videos you'll never see the start of event.

rvd123 · 07-10-2016, 12:14 AM

The force to take him to the ground was appropriate, but what's with the punch's to the head ?

btimbit · 07-10-2016, 12:15 AM

People don't realize how hard it is to control another human being.

Been following the reddit thread on this and the opinion seems to be that they subdued a man and then continued to beat him up. Watching the video, it doesn't look like the guy is subdued to me. The guy was visibly aggressive from the start. Even after he's on the ground he's swatting at one cop and kicking at the other.

Not too sure what people would like the cops to do differently. Humans are strong creatures, you can't just hold a guy down, you have to convince them to cooperate. This is 3 on 1 and they still can't control him. Unfortunate truth is that sometimes force is necessary. It's brutal, for sure, but not police brutality.

All imo, of course.

monkeyman · 07-10-2016, 12:15 AM

The punches to the head seemed a little much to me, especially considering he clearly already had the guy pinned with two additional cops there to back him up.

T@T · 07-10-2016, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvd123

The force to take him to the ground was appropriate, but what's with the punch's to the head ?

When 3 cops are on top of you it's a way of saying shut your mouth without speaking.

peter12 · 07-10-2016, 12:41 AM

I thought the police weren't allowed to hit with a closed fist?

RinkRat · 07-10-2016, 12:54 AM

I find the people quickest to point out the flaws in take downs and force are those who have zero experience and use movies as their reference points.

The strikes come across as excessive, but unless your actually feeling the amount of resistance the person is putting out you are in no position to judge what is "too much" based on visual alone.

We often here how the police were resorting to tasers and batons to quickly but when they use physical force now that is even too much for the delicate eyes of our public.

As always I say go on some ride alongs and get an understanding of the day to day work.

When things do get excessive I know for a fact the extent In which those cases are pursued internally which are all public record. On an added note, lawyers and the crown are always the reason these things take forever.

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Locke · 07-10-2016, 01:00 AM

Actually I dont really see much problem with it.

Sure, its 3 on 1 but the guy is being aggressive and even when hes on the ground he looks like hes trying to strike out at the officer.

The 'punching' motion to me looks like the officer is trying to get the guy's outstretched arm down rather than just laying blows onto him.

I'll admit that the part where it looks like the one officer is pulling his hair is tough to defend, but again, its about subduing someone who is aggressive.

Also, its Stampede and I would imagine that their patience is likely stretched to the limit, they are still people after all.

AltaGuy · 07-10-2016, 01:02 AM

This one bothers me way more. That looked appropriate to me.
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/c...lton-1.3636873

ComixZone · 07-10-2016, 01:13 AM

Nope, sorry - not appropriate. They got him to the ground, with three officers pinning him - the hits to the head are excessive. Knee on the throat was more than sufficient - the punches crossed the line.

Kjesse · 07-10-2016, 01:24 AM

CPS training causes officers to call these, "head stuns", not "punches to the head".

This looked excessive to me in the short clip. The CPS' written response made them look worse, because they seem to be saying he was driving poorly to justify the magnitude of the take-down, at least in part.

The impression I'm left with is that these cops were on shift too long and lost patience.

PepsiFree · 07-10-2016, 01:44 AM

I could (in theory) be convinced that there was a required amount of force which is above and beyond what many of us would think is required.

That said, this looks rotten for two reasons:

1. The CPS don't seem to indicate this is the required level of force. CPS's excuse was that this video "isn't the whole story."

If the reason this was warranted is not contained in the video, then the excuse is not his level of resistance. We see that in full in the video.

2. Punches to the head are dangerous and while unlikely, can kill someone. Not a single person would be defending the CPS if that last punch bounced the guy's head off the pavement and killed him.

We should judge this based on the act, not the result.

This seems like the officer got pushed a little too far and lost control. He should be suspended and put into anger management for starters.

White Out 403 · 07-10-2016, 02:10 AM

Closed fist punches to the face while 3 guys have a suspect pinned down is OK to some folks? For a traffic violation?

calgaryblood · 07-10-2016, 02:15 AM

I can't believe people are defending this. The guy was not even half that cops size and there were three of them and he already had full control of the suspect before punching him in the head. There were no weapons involved and he was not a threat at all. He was trying to protect his face from the punches and ate more punches for doing what any normal person would do if they were getting punched in the face.

calgaryblood · 07-10-2016, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by btimbit

People don't realize how hard it is to control another human being.

Been following the reddit thread on this and the opinion seems to be that they subdued a man and then continued to beat him up. Watching the video, it doesn't look like the guy is subdued to me. The guy was visibly aggressive from the start. Even after he's on the ground he's swatting at one cop and kicking at the other.

Not too sure what people would like the cops to do differently. Humans are strong creatures, you can't just hold a guy down, you have to convince them to cooperate. This is 3 on 1 and they still can't control him. Unfortunate truth is that sometimes force is necessary. It's brutal, for sure, but not police brutality.

All imo, of course.

Did you watch the same video as me? Please point to the exact second where he's kicking and swatting at the other officers. He's doing what any person would do after being mugged and punched in the face. Trying to protect his body/face. I'd love to see you stay still while getting kneed in the face/body and punched in the head.

And humans are strong creatures but one of those humans wasn't this guy in the video. He was a small man and was literally at least half the weight of the cop who smashed him to the ground with ease.

monkeyman · 07-10-2016, 05:49 AM

It's pretty telling to me as well that the cops thought this guy was such a menace and needed to be subdued with punches to the head that they let him go with a ticket when all was said and done.

Eyewitness account.
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/c...mera-1.3672186

FlamesAddiction · 07-10-2016, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by btimbit

People don't realize how hard it is to control another human being.

Been following the reddit thread on this and the opinion seems to be that they subdued a man and then continued to beat him up. Watching the video, it doesn't look like the guy is subdued to me. The guy was visibly aggressive from the start. Even after he's on the ground he's swatting at one cop and kicking at the other.

It's like we watched 2 different videos. He looks clearly subdued until he starts getting punched in the head at which point he starts flailing a little, probably because he thought they were going to kill him and it frickin hurt.

Looking at those meatheads, my guess is roid rage.

Yoho · 07-10-2016, 07:23 AM

Great example of someone's mouth writing cheques his body can't cash. Pretty impressive resistance by Lil Jinx, I'll give him that.

polak · 07-10-2016, 07:27 AM

No way you can defend those punches to the face with the guy pinned down.

OldDutch · 07-10-2016, 07:56 AM

Ya I am not reacting to a video that shows the second half of the altercation and with no audio. What was said in the exchange that got things ramped up so quick? Maybe nothing, maybe something violent.

Funny I have never been punched in the face by a cop before, or even hand cuffed. Then again in all my encounters with police I don't act like a d-bag.

A few months ago I got pulled over by a cop for a petty traffic violation. He came up to my window pretty aggressivly. I just said "Do what you need to do, I just want to inform you I am going to fight whatever ticket you give me" vey calm and polite. He ended up backing off after we chatted about why I was responding the way I was. It was a really good interaction and ended with both of us apologizing to each other and I went on my way with no ticket.

In my general experience CPS has been totally fine. There are right ways and wrong ways to handle things. I am willing to bet this guy went about things the wrong way. I find it hard to believe these cops are going to tackle you over nothing. Put me in the probably not needed but dude probably deserved it catagory.