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Naming charged officers a 'black eye' for police: Calgary Police Association president

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Critics and supporters are speaking out after a member of the Calgary Police Service was charged with aggravated assault.

The charges are in connection with a violent arrest in 2015, when police said a man in custody suffered serious head injuries after being thrown to the ground in handcuffs while being transferred from a police vehicle to the CPS Court Services Section building.

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Police did not release the name of the officer because he was “in the execution of his duties” at the time of the incident.

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“I know this kid personally, to the best of my knowledge he’s an outstanding police officer,” said Les Kaminski, the Calgary Police Association’s recently elected president. “He does his job very well, and I think once all the facts are presented I think he’s going to be cleared of these allegations.”

The union chief said police do not name members charged because of “very significant consequences” to officers and their family members, adding the increased number of officers charged in recent months could be a result of a perception issue with police.

“I believe there’s some politics involved. I believe that people in those positions think that by laying more charges it puts more confidence in the system.”

Global News reports the officer charged is Trevor Lindsay, a six-year veteran of the Calgary Police Service.

Sean Holman, a journalism professor at Mount Royal University, said police, like all public servants, need to be held accountable and the public has a right to know the identity of public servants who are not “performing their duties correctly.”

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“This is not a regular Calgarian — this is a public servant who should be accountable to the public,” Holman said. “That goes with the territory of the position of trust and power and authority that this individual is in.”

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart, who sits on the Calgary police commission, echoed Kaminski’s comments, calling the naming of charged officers a “double-edged sword” of public perception.

“You’ve really got to weigh the consequences here of both sides of the impact that this could have,” Colley-Urquhart said.

A report into the incident was approved by ASIRT, and Colley-Urquhart expressed frustration with the watchdog group and the length of time their investigations take.

Lindsay is also named in a civil complaint against police by Edmonton lawyer Tom Engel on behalf of his client Godfred Addai-Nyamekye, who claimed he was assaulted by Lindsay on Dec. 28, 2013.

Court documents obtained by Postmedia claim Lindsay used “unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority, excessive force, and profane, abusive or insulting language” while responding to a 911 call placed by Addai-Nyamekye after police “abandoned”  the man in “freezing cold weather.” The letter also said Lindsay used a Taser on Addai-Nyamekye after pushing him to the ground. 

None of the allegations in the statement of claim, filed earlier this month, has been proven in court.

In 2015, Engel said Addai-Nyamekye was acquitted of charges of assault against Lindsay in relation to the incident.

Calgary police Insp. Ryan Ayliffe said the unidentified victim in the 2015 arrest received serious head injuries and was taken to hospital where he recovered, but the man died some time later in an “unrelated” event.

Ayliffe said the front-line patrol officer is on paid administrative leave and the officer’s status will be continually reviewed.

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