Another video has surfaced, showing a new angle of an aggressive Kelowna RCMP arrest in which an officer punched a suspect at least 10 times, several connecting with his head.
The minute-long video shows a longer struggle with the suspect during the shocking Saturday evening (May 30) arrest, which has resulted in the internal investigation of an unnamed officer.
“I was very disturbed,” said Tyson Gillies, the man who shot the video from the rooftop patio of Kelly O’Bryan’s in downtown Kelowna. “I looked around at the table of all my friends I was with and I couldn’t help but see it in their eyes either.”
Kelowna’s top cop, Supt. Brent Mundle, held a press conference on Tuesday, June 2, addressing the arrest of the man who was reported to be intoxicated inside a vehicle.
The 30-year-old man was uncooperative, according to RCMP, clenching his fists as two officers attempted to arrest him, prompting the call for a third officer to attend the scene.
“Obviously in the short duration of the video, the action is concerning,” said Mundle while addressing the media.
The initial video, 12 seconds in length, shows the officer arrives on the scene and sprint towards his colleagues who were attempting to apprehend a suspect, before punching the man in the head.
“It does not include what precipitated the situation where the officer felt the physical force seen in the video was necessary,” Mundle said.
The new, longer video shows two officers struggling with the man for about 30 seconds before the arrival of the third officer. The officer appears to land at least 10 strikes in two rounds of punches.
After the first video was released, Mundle said it was just a short moment out of the entire arrest.
“It 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,” he said.
Sgt. Janelle Shoihet, the senior media relations officer at the RCMP’s E Division, confirmed that as of Thursday, June 4, the officer involved in the incident has been reassigned to administrative duties. His duty status is subject to continuous review and assessment.
The detachment also announced Mundle’s transfer to a position within the Southeast District Senior Management Team on Thursday.
“While investigators have received a copy of the initial video, we understand there are additional witnesses, and/or people in possession of videos which have not yet been turned over to police,” said Sgt. Janelle Shoihet of the BC RCMP.
“Such evidence is instrumental in supporting both the on-going internal investigation, as well as the criminal investigation as it relates to the initial arrest.”
Anyone who was a witness, or is in possession of video evidence is asked to contact the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300. Or remain completely anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or by leaving a tip online at www.crimestoppers.net
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