RCMP Plain Clothes Officer - Photo by: Iouri Goussev (CC-BY-SA-2.0)
The Abbotsford, B.C. police department is recommending that charges be laid against a Kelowna RCMP Constable who was videotaped kicking a co-operative suspect in the face.
The independent police of Abbotsford, who were brought in to perform a criminal examination of the occurrence, said their officers recommend that RCMP Constable Geoff Mantler be charged with 1 count of physical assault causing bodily harm.
Abbotsford police report that investigators are writing a report that they will submit to Crown counsel.
Abbotsford Police Department’s Constable Ian MacDonald said they had interviewed approximately forty witnesses and thoroughly scrutinized the video, which has been extensively transmitted and viewed thousands of times on YouTube.
That video is a very convincing piece of proof, we reviewed it regularly, he said. But I don’t want to discount the eyewitnesses, either. We were nicely surprised that there was full support from Kelowna residents.
Crown counsel make the final determination as to whether or not they will lay a charge against Constable Mantler.
The incident on Jan. 7 made national news headlines after the video, shot by a bystander on his phone across the street, was released.
In the video, Buddy Tavares, 51, exits his truck raising his hands in the air. It shows 2 officers with their guns drawn and then one kicking him in his face as he is following instructions and getting down on the ground.
Tavares has been charged with the careless use of a firearm. He was detained after reports of shots being fired at a golf course in Kelowna.
Tavares is on sick leave from his normal job at the golf course while he is recovering from the effects of a brain injury that he suffered in a motorcycle crash recently.
Tavares told reporters that his employer had requested him to use his shotgun to scare away geese from the greens.
Tavares suffered a several scrapes on his face and a black eye.
Constable Mantler was suspended with pay awaiting results of the investigation.
Approximately 300 people marched on the streets of Kelowna on Sunday afternoon to the RCMP detachment from a local park.
The demonstration was hyped on Facebook as a gathering to put a stop to police brutality. It took about 40 minutes and was peaceful in spite of fears from the RCMP that it could turn violent.
Oranizer John Hewitson said that people are sick and tired of that kind of thing happening and they are growing intolerant of police officers receiving pay while they are under investigation.
Tavares appeared briefly at the gathering. He said he feels fortunate that his arrest was recorded on tape, and he said the experience was mind-boggling.
Meanwhile, two New Democrat MPs, Don Davies, public safety critic and Nathan Cullen, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP, issued a statement saying that the brutal capture emphasizes the need for serious restructuring and stronger supervision of the RCMP.
When police brutality against an obedient and passive civilian happens, the community needs to recognize that strong and quick reaction will take place, Davies said in the statement.
Until RCMP supervision is reinforced, public assurance in the RCMP will persist in degrading.
Cullen said it’s very clear that some action has to be taken.
The occurrence in Kelowna ought to be an awakening to the administration that they have sat by and done nothing about RCMP reform for far too long, he said. The administration has been aware for years that the system is broken, but even their own inadequate restructuring bill is stagnated in Parliament since they decline to introduce it for debate.
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