Edmonton Police Watch

EDMONTON – A delay of nearly six years has made bringing out the truth behind charges against two Edmonton police officers a difficult job, said the presiding officer during closing arguments at a disciplinary hearing Wednesday.

Constables Cody Zielie and Richard Abbott are each facing one count of unlawful use of authority for allegedly being too rough with a 17-year-old runaway.

In December 2003, they joined in a foot chase and Abbott tackled the youth. But one of the two independent witnesses of the arrest is dead, and the other has moved away.

The young man’s mother was watching, first from a window and then a nearby doorway. She gave a 12-minute interview to a police detective one month later, but died before she could testify.

“She would have been an immensely valuable witness,” said presiding officer Supt. Mark Logar.

The mother described one officer with his knee pinning her son’s face to the ground and another officer punching him on the head and body. But logically, that would be difficult.

“The constable would not be too terrible far from his knee,” said Logar. There’s just not that much space around one boy’s head.

There’s also the question of how much she could see from where she was standing at 1 a.m., added Staff Sgt. Bill Newton, acting as agent for the two constables. “Was it actually punching or just reaching in to try and grab his arms?”

The youth, who can’t be named because he was a ward of the Crown at the time, told the hearing he suffered fractures to his foot and jaw because the officers beat him up when they arrested him after he surrendered.

The officers said he didn’t surrender. One took him down mid-stride with a flying tackle. They testified they did not punch him or give any head stuns, but one did pin the youth’s shoulder with his knee.

Newton suggested the young man’s injuries could have been caused by the tackle and by his own flailing as he tried to get away.

A decision in the case is expected March 20.

via Disciplinary officer rues delay in hearing over teen’s arrest.

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