Don Plant (Kelowna Daily Courier) – A brain-injured British Columbia man who was kicked in the head while being arrested by an RCMP officer said the attack was a “major setback.”
RCMP Const. Geoff Mantler is charged with assault causing bodily harm after Buddy Tavares was assaulted on Jan. 8. The attack was caught on cellphone video that went viral on the Internet, causing protests in Kelowna and outrage throughout British Columbia.
“On the video, I was out cold. I was unconscious,” Tavares said Tuesday, shortly after Mantler made his first court appearance. “I was really lucky I wasn’t shot.”
Mantler is also charged with assault causing bodily harm for an Aug. 30 attack on Manjeet Singh Bhatti.
Tavares arrived at the Kelowna Law Courts 15 minutes early for Mantler’s scheduled 2 p.m. local time court appearance, only to hear that a justice of the peace had adjourned the case for two weeks just after 1: 30 p.m.
“I’m going to be [earlier] next time,” said Tavares, who has not seen Mantler since he was attacked. “I was early, but I thought 2 p.m. was 2 p.m., not 1: 30 p.m.”
Tavares admitted Tuesday he didn’t know what happened to him after he was arrested for careless use of a firearm until he went home after three days in custody and saw the viral video online.
“I didn’t know I’d been kicked … That’s the first I knew. That was really bad,” he said.
There were no mirrors in police cells, he said. His head hurt, but he didn’t know why. He looked in the mirror after his release.
Tavares was recovering from a brain injury he suffered in a motorcycle crash last August. He has no memory of the time between the kick and sitting in the back of the police car.
The kick was a “major setback,” Tavares said. He’s recovering but still seeing doctors and living on a disability pension. He can drive a car and hopes to return to his job at The Harvest Golf Club.
“In light of everything, they want letters saying I’m okay … to drive around in a golf cart,” he said. “Everyone’s guarded and I understand that.”
The charges against Tavares were stayed by the criminal justice branch of the attorney-general’s Ministry in February.
“On review of the file, the Crown concluded there was not a basis to proceed on a criminal charge against [Tavares],” spokesman Neil MacKenzie said at the time.
Mantler is suspended from the RCMP and continues to receive a salary.
Peter Hourihan, the RCMP’s commanding officer in B.C., has recommended stopping his salary and allowances.
Senior RCMP officials in Ottawa have yet to make the final decision.
Supt. Bill McKinnon of the Kelowna RCMP has recommended Mantler face a disciplinary panel of senior officers for his role in Mantler’s and Bhatti’s arrest.
Typically, the RCMP wait for a criminal trial to conclude before convening an adjudication board to determine whether an officer has violated the force’s code of conduct. This case may be an exception.
“It’s fair to say he [Mantler] will face an adjudication hearing. However some additional signatures are required,” said RCMP Insp. Tim Shields, who speaks for the RCMP in B.C. Mantler will be back in court on May 10.
Recent Comments