http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story ... alcommentsA video played during the sentencing hearing of a man who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and assaulting a police officer shows Winnipeg police officers pinning him down and beating him in a parking lot.
Cody Bousquet was handed a sentence of 11 months — equal to the time he has already served, which means no more jail time.
Judge Ray Wyant said he did not see Bousquet resisting arrest as police had claimed, said Bousquet's lawyer, Dan Manning.
The video, played Thursday in court, shows a man identified as Bousquet about to go down on his knees when an officer runs over and shoves him down, then gives him a kick, the video shows.
Bousquet is quickly surrounded by as many as six officers at one point, some kneeing him while he is lying down and being handcuffed.
The majority of the video shows four officers pinning him while some of them punch and knee him further.
Manning said officers also struck Bousquet twice with a stun gun.
Bousquet was unrecognizable the day after the incident due to the extent of his injuries, Manning said.
"When I saw him that morning, I honestly did not recognize him. His face was swollen to twice its normal size. His eyes were black. There was blood around his face — dried blood," he said.
"It was shocking. Of course, at the time I had no idea what had happened."
Manning is discussing with his client the possibility of filing a formal complaint with the Law Enforcement Review Agency (LERA), which investigates citizen complaints against police officers.
Incident followed high-speed chase
The video was from a security camera mounted on PartSource, an automotive parts retailer located at the corner of Isabel Street and Notre Dame Avenue in the city's Centennial neighbourhood.
It was recorded in February after Bousquet led police on a high-speed vehicle pursuit in a stolen pickup truck, ending in the parking lot, court was told.
Deputy Chief Doug Webster "has initiated a review of this matter" and was not providing any comment on Friday, said a police spokesperson.
Mike Sutherland, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, was not immediately available for comment.
'I don't think any law abiding citizen needs to fear the Winnipeg police service.'—City Coun. Mike Pagtakhan
City Coun. Mike Pagtakhan, who heads the Protection and Community Services committee that oversees the police, came to the defence of the force and the officers in the video.
Pagtakhan said his interpretation of the video is that it shows police apprehending a man who is struggling against them.
"I think that when police officers apprehend an individual they do so in a safe manner and they'll try and contain the individual to make sure that they comply," he said. "If you're unco-operative, there might be a little bit of force, but [that] depends on the situation.
"I don't think any law-abiding citizen needs to fear the Winnipeg police service."
Chief Keith McCaskill was not commenting. His nephew, Const. Ryan Law, is reportedly one of the officers involved in Bousquet's arrest.
Officer involved in previous assault
Law was involved in a previous assault case as well. He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault in June in connection with an incident in November 2008.
A suspected car thief was in an interview room at the Public Safety Building when Law allegedly entered the room and kicked the man in the stomach.
There was no indication the victim was physically resisting police, prosecutor Kerry Unruh — one of eight independent special prosecutors assigned by the province to handle criminal cases involving police officers — said at the time.
Law is still on administrative leave pending an internal hearing to determine his employment status.
The victim in that case, Henry Lavallee, held a press conference in July. Supported by the Southern Chiefs Organization, an advocacy group for First Nations people in southern Manitoba, Lavallee, 45, described how the attack was unprovoked.
He said he was lying on the floor in a holding cell when an officer came in and kicked him hard in the stomach.
Lavallee said he started bleeding from his mouth, nose and rectum, and was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. He suffered a ruptured colon and spent several weeks recovering in hospital.
Lavallee had been arrested for mischief after he and another man tried to steal a case of beer out of a car.
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