Edmonton Police Watch

An Edmonton city police detective has been charged following alleged threats made late last week.

Police received a complaint regarding alleged phone calls late last week and laid charges today.

Police claim the incident took place when the officer was on duty, but was in relation to a personal matter.

Whitfield McLean, 40, has been charged with two counts of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.

He has been employed with EPS for 15 years, and has been suspended with pay.

via Metro - Police detective charged with uttering threats.

An Edmonton man who was shot by a city cop in August after reportedly refusing to drop a knife he was carrying has launched a $1-million lawsuit against police.

In a statement of claim filed Jan. 5, Percy Davis alleges he was pepper sprayed and shot by Const. Myles Stromner, despite the fact he was retreating from the officer.

Davis, 26, claims he suffered serious and painful injuries requiring hospitalization, including the loss of one of his lungs, and has lost income and earning capacity and suffered a permanent deterioration of his quality of life.

The statement of claim, which names Stromner, eight unidentified police officers and Chief Mike Boyd as defendants, also alleges Davis was unlawfully detained, beaten and zapped with a Taser by police on several occasions.

Davis alleges he was living with his parents, Glen and Rose Davis, at their 3008 113 Ave. home when four city police officers showed up on Jan. 4, 2007.

Once inside, the officers allegedly ordered the parents to remain on the second floor while they interviewed Davis.

The officers then unlawfully handcuffed Davis, punched him in the jaw, used a Taser on him, confiscated his Alberta Health and Treaty cards and forced him to submit to a drug test, according to the statement of claim.

Davis also alleges he was unlawfully detained, searched, beaten and stunned by a Taser by four other unidentified officers sometime later in 2007. He also alleges he had previous dealings with Stromner prior to the Aug. 8 shooting.

On Aug. 29, 2007, Davis alleges Stromner came to his house and asked him to come outside to talk.

When he complied, Stromner allegedly handcuffed him and detained him inside Stromner’s police vehicle.

Davis alleges Stromner then abused his authority by insulting, demeaning and belittling him and stomped on his bare foot while releasing him and also shoved him.

Davis also claims Stromner later unlawfully stopped him and falsely accused him of stealing a car.

The lawsuit, which seeks aggravated and punitive damages as a result of the alleged flagrant abuse of authority and high-handed and malicious police conduct, as well as $50,000 in damages on behalf of Davis’ parents, alleges Boyd is liable for the actions of the EPS members.

A statement of defence has not yet been filed.

Statements of claim and statements of defence contain allegations which have not been proven.

Meanwhile, Davis has been charged with possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace and assaulting a peace officer stemming from the 9:30 a.m. Aug. 8 shooting in the parking lot of Abbottsfield Mall.

At the time, police said the officer had responded to a report of a man with a knife and had asked the man several times to drop the weapon. When he didn’t comply, the officer deployed pepper spray, which didn’t seem to have an effect. The officer then fired two shots, said police.

via edmontonsun.com - Edmonton News - City man shot by police files $1-million suit.

EDMONTON - An Edmonton police officer accused of misusing his Taser on a 15-year-old boy in 2003 pleaded not guilty at his disciplinary hearing Thursday.

Const. Todd Hudec is charged with two counts of discreditable conduct and three counts of insubordination under the provincial Police Act. His two-day hearing is scheduled for March 5 and 6.

In 2006, the boy had his break-and-enter charges stayed after a judge found a “shocking abuse of police powers.” But when criminal assault charges were brought against Hudec in 2007, he was acquitted.

The teen testified Hudec showed him the Taser while he was in the back of the police car and threatened to use it when they got to the station. He says Hudec showed it to him again, then used it on his leg while he was being strip-searched.

He testified Hudec said, “This is for lying to the police.”

Hudec testified he used the Taser after the teen became aggressive while officers were trying to search him. The boy told police he was unarmed, but a pat-down uncovered an eight-inch dagger and two smaller knives. During Hudec’s assault trial, Provincial Court Judge Ray Bradley said it was the boy’s lies that tipped the balance and made Hudec’s use of force “not unreasonable.”

The insubordination charges stem from Hudec’s alleged failure to get medical attention for the boy and to properly document the incident.

via Edmonton cop pleads not guilty to misusing Taser on teen.

CALGARY HERALD

A man Tasered during a 2004 arrest in the midst of a parking-lot brawl in Edmonton did nothing to warrant such force, a police disciplinary hearing was told this week.

Insp. Neil Dubord, the presenting officer in the case, told the hearing Wednesday that officers “had physical control of Mr.Boik and he was no threat of a flight risk.”

Boik claims he was Tasered by Const. Andrew Hoglund after he was handcuffed, an assertion that has been contradicted by other officers’ testimony.

Hoglund is accused of unnecessary use of force. He also faces a charge of failing to file a report on the incident, to which he has pleaded guilty.

In previous testimony, Hoglund said his memory of the incident four years ago was “foggy.”

He told his hearing he doesn’t specifically recall Tasering Boik, but admits it must have been him.

Staff Sgt. Bill Newton, who advocated for Hoglund, criticized the length of the investigation, saying it led to poor memories and contradicting testimony.

“This was a confusing and con-founding incident that happened four years ago,” Newton said. “This is another example of the profound effect that protracted investigations have.”

A decision on the matter is expected Feb. 19.

In Hoglund’s case, around 25 officers converged on a bar because a fight had broken out in the parking lot.

EDMONTON SUN

Police Chief Mike Boyd vowed to address concerns of Taser use among officers amid reports that some officers are considering abandoning the device for fear of controversy.

“It’s an issue that came to light recently and was reported in the media that some officers were very disappointed around the lack of support for a use-of-force option in them carrying the Taser,” said Boyd at last night’s police commission meeting at City Hall.

“I want to provide our support to officers in backing the lawful use of the Taser. We want to be able to convey that to them.”

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METRO NEWS

An Edmonton police constable was relieved of his patrol duties and placed into an administrative position yesterday after being accused of assaulting a man he arrested.

The constable, 29-year-old Haoyin Zheng, was also charged with assault and assault with a weapon after a 51-year-old man was arrested for an alleged auto theft near 105th Avenue and 145rd Street around 3 a.m.

After the arrest, the man was taken to hospital complaining of pain to his ribs. He was treated for minor bruising and later released.

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EDMONTON - Some Edmonton police officers have chosen not to carry Tasers because of the controversy the weapons attract, despite believing the devices are valuable tools.

While testifying as a witness in a disciplinary hearing for two other officers, Const. Mike Wasylyshen said he has stopped carrying a Taser because of past criticisms.

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EDMONTON JOURNAL

A veteran Edmonton police officer who used a Taser on two sleeping men has been handed a 90-hour suspension in a strongly worded indictment on abuse of the controversial weapon.

Const. Jeffrey Resler pleaded guilty to using his Taser seconds after entering a Cromdale Hotel room in 2003, but he blamed his misconduct on stress caused by a bitter divorce.

In a written internal disciplinary decision released this week, Supt. Mark Logar ruled the officer had no authority to arrest or detain the two men.

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EDMONTON JOURNAL

EDMONTON - The Kiwanis Club of Edmonton presented Staff Sgt. Jamie Ewatski with its 2008 Top Cop award at a ceremony this morning.

The award is given annually to a full-time member of the Edmonton Police Service who is nominated by a colleague or a member of the community for their volunteer work.

Ewatski, who has been with the EPS for 30 years, has worked with the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program since 1995, graduating more than 600 school children through the program.

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EDMONTON SUN

A city law professor is calling for a moratorium on stun-gun use following a series of deadly incidents.

That’s despite assurances from doctors at a mental health conference that there is no certain link.

“It is no longer enough to say, ‘Oh, we’re not sure (stun guns) are safe, but we’ll still use them,” said Sanjeev Anand of the University of Alberta.

A conference of mental-health professionals held earlier this week in Edmonton probed the danger for mentally-ill suspects subject to being zapped. Dr. Dorothy Cotton said: “… It’d be safe to say in situations involving Tasers and excited delirium, it’s just not known. We’re just not there yet.”

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