An RCMP officer has been placed on administrative duties pending the results of an investigation after video surfaced online of an arrest in High Level, Alta., showing an officer kneeing a man repeatedly as he lay on the ground.
The incident occurred Wednesday at a motel called the Flamingo Inn in the town in the province’s northwest, and by Thursday it had been passed to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which is charged with probing alleged police misconduct.
Two short clips of the arrest posted to social media show an officer “striking the subject in an effort to bring them under control,” Sean Curry, RCMP chief superintendent in the area, told media. The man was “very intoxicated” and allegedly refused to follow commands, Curry added.
The level of force used is what’s being investigated, he said. Because of the probe, he declined to comment further on the officer’s actions but said that concerns about the incident were being taken “very seriously.”
“Western Alberta district senior management has had the opportunity to speak with local Indigenous leaders whose community members have been affected by this. Understandably, they wish to know how this transpired,” he said.
The person arrested was, about three hours later, taken to hospital in what Curry said was a precautionary measure, and has since been released without charges.
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