The Kelowna RCMPsa国际传媒檚 top cop has called an officersa国际传媒檚 alleged excessive use of force during a weekend arrest sa国际传媒渃oncerning.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淥bviously in the short duration of the video, the action is concerning,sa国际传媒� said Supt. Brent Mundle while addressing the media on Tuesday, June 2.
The video he spoke of stems from a May 30 arrest in which Kelowna officers responded to a complaint from the public of a man who allegedly appeared intoxicated inside a vehicle in the 200-block of Bernard Avenue.
The 30-year-old man in the vehicle was uncooperative, according to police.
sa国际传媒淏ecause of the difficulty in safely bringing the man under control, the officers requested a third member attend the scene,sa国际传媒� Mundle said.
sa国际传媒淲hen the third officer arrived, he observed that the man was still resisting arrest.
sa国际传媒淚n order to gain control of the situation, and for the safety of the officers, he was struck several times and was then taken to the ground and handcuffed.sa国际传媒�
Part of the incident was caught in a 12-second video, which Mundle said is one short moment out of the entire arrest process.
sa国际传媒淚t does not include what precipitated the situation where the officer felt the physical force seen in the video was necessary,sa国际传媒� he said.
sa国际传媒淚t is important when I review these matters that I look at the full incident and what happened prior and after so that I can fully understand before coming to a judgement.sa国际传媒�
The officer, who has been on the force for three years, is now the subject of an internal review.
Mundle said he will review the events prior to the use of force, as well as the moments after, before he can come to a conclusion.
Mundle confirmed RCMP officers are trained to use force if they deem the situation needs it, but he acknowledged the incident caught on the video is still concerning.
He said the current situation in the U.S. has also prompted them to look at the incident in a different light.
sa国际传媒淥bviously, what wesa国际传媒檙e seeing south of the border is very disturbing and concerning. And certainly the actionssa国际传媒hat occurred here has been looked at in a similar light by individuals in the community,sa国际传媒� he said.
sa国际传媒淚n policing, public confidence is very important to us. Thatsa国际传媒檚 why when this matter was brought to our attention, wesa国际传媒檝e been treating the matter very seriouslysa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e initiated the investigation and the processes that we have.sa国际传媒�
There is no timeline yet of how long the investigation will take.
Mundle said the officersa国际传媒檚 duty status will be determined in the next coming days.
Anyone who witnessed the arrest is asked to call Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300.
