Dave Dormer (Calgary Sun) – One of three men accusing a Kelowna Mountie of assault says he has retained a lawyer and will likely sue the force.
Jeremy Packer, 30, suffered a broken tooth along with cuts, scrapes and bruising during an Aug. 30, 2010, arrest near the floating bridge in Kelowna — about 600 km west of Calgary — after police suspected he had stolen a boat.
“I went through quite a traumatizing day,” he said.
“I want some compensation for that.”
Released without charge two hours after the arrest, Packer made a formal complaint against Const. Geoff Mantler in November 2010, and the officer was charged with two counts of assault causing bodily harm March 24.
The second charge stems from a separate, Jan. 7 arrest where Mantler was videotaped kicking Buddy Tavares in the face while he was on his knees with his hands up.
Mantler was suspended with pay three days later.
Charges against Tavares were dropped and the RCMP formally apologized, something Packer said he’d like as well.
“I wouldn’t mind one for sure if he really meant he’s sorry,” he said.
“Buddy got an apology and I never got anything out of this at all.”
Then working for Tru Northwest — a RV and marine dealer — Packer said the company did repairs on a Kelowna man’s boat and when his $3,000 cheque bounced, a lien was put on the boat and Packer was sent to retrieve it.
Packer said he posted the lien notice on the man’s front door telling him to call the company if he wanted it back, but the man called police instead.
“They set up a spike strip off the bridge and had choppers and a road block,” said Packer.
“I saw the road block so I stopped and sat there.
“Then I saw two cops running up beside (his truck) with their guns drawn and they started pointing to me and telling me to put my hands up.”
When Packer unlocked his door, he said the officers dragged him out of the truck and forced him to the ground.
“I got caught in the seatbelt and the truck started rolling forward,” he said.
“They told me not to run and I was like ‘I’m not running, I’m stuck in my seatbelt,’ and they punched me in the head.
“They got on top of me and put my hands behind my back and just started punching my head.
“There was three cops on me, I was pinned down and couldn’t move, I had to turn my head to the side because I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
A third man has also come forward alleging he was assaulted by Mantler during an Aug. 10, 2010 arrest, which police are now investigating.
“If this guy’s like that I hope he loses his job,” said Packer.
“He beat the crap out of me pretty good so I don’t have very good thoughts on him.”
Mr. Packer also has a tort action against the person who reported the item stolen in the first place which led to him being unnecessarily assaulted by Cst. Mantler. I believe that the 3 elements necessary are manifest in this case. This person could also face a criminal mischief charge under the Criminal Code, Sec 140 (1).
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This is just the sort of incident that makes me cringe. Who exactly is training members these days in making arrests?
You can’t fault the RCMP for locating and stopping Mr. Packer once they received a report that he’d stolen a truck. The problem with the majority of calls the police receive is that in the first instance they are always dependent on what the complainant chooses to tell them. It may be the truth, or part of the truth, or total bullshit but the police have no recourse but to respond. Had they chosen not to stop Mr. Packer, and it subsequently turned out he had stolen the truck, they would certainly have been criticized for that.
Initially things progressed as they should. The RCMP set up a road block in Mr. Packer’s path and had a spike belt ready in case he tried to flee. No problems so far. Mr. Packer had stopped his truck when he saw the roadblock.
Here’s what should then have happened: The police approach with some caution. They order him to put his truck in park (elementary, one would think), turn the ignition off and remove the keys. They order him to release his seat belt, unlock the door and step out while keeping his hands in plain view. They handcuff him and detain him in the back of a cruiser and explain why they have detained him. All of this is taught in training.
At this point Mr. Packer would no doubt explain the lien and the boat repossession. A couple of phone calls to his employer and a visit to the complainant would serve to at the very least suggest that he’s being truthful. The police could in fact seize the boat temporarily until they were completely satisfied that Mr. Packer was innocent of the complaint of theft. He may be, depending on his history (if any) with the police, be briefly held in custody. Once it was determined that the complainant had in fact lied to the police the complainant would be charged criminally. The RCMP would explain to Mr. Packer their perfectly reasonable actions under the circumstances, apologize, explain that they would be pursuing criminal charges against the complainant, and would seek a witness statement from Mr. Packer to assist with that goal.
I have to say that in just over 30 years as a member I have punched someone in only one instance – because he had grabbed me by the throat. I’ve never punched anyone during an arrest although I’ve had a few wrestling matches. In fact nowhere in the RCMP use of force continuum, unless its been modified radically in the last year or so, is punching anyone recommended particularly when they aren’t resisting arrest.
Now, we don’t know if the members stopping Mr. Packer felt threatened for some reason, but if he’s to be believed they overreacted badly. He says they ordered him to put his hands up – a reasonable action. Obviously they didn’t stop to consider that the truck was still in gear although checking the tail lights, or asking Mr. Packer would have answered that question. They also apparently missed, and never considered, that he was wearing a seat belt. Regardless I don’t understand why at any point they felt the need to punch him.
Had the arresting members handled the situation as they were taught, or at least with any degree of intelligence, they would have come out of this situation quite well, Mr. Packer wouldn’t have a broken tooth and the RCMP wouldn’t again be looking like a national embarrassment.
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