/MC/ Edmonton, Alberta [Canada] (Signal High) for BadCop.Online —– Former Edmonton Police Constable Oli Olason pleaded not guilty on Monday to a single count of assault following the events of March 23, 2021, where he, and three other Edmonton Police officers, are alleged to have used severe and excessive force in the arrest of Lee Van Beaver.
At the start of the trial, Beaver, 43, testified Olason kicked him and stomped on his head after he surrendered to a police takedown in an alleyway beside a cafe on 76th Avenue. “One officer rushed up, kicked me in the face, then [ground] his boot on the back of my head, even stood on it [with] both feet,” Beaver testified. “Another officer grabbed my arm, while another tased me in the back. I asked why I was being treated like this even though I was being compliant.” Olason allegedly replied “Do you want your fucking arm broken?”
Beaver is a support care worker at an addictions treatment centre. He was walking to a friend’s house to borrow a bicycle. He had bear spray in his possession to defend against being mugged — a common occurrence in the area. Olason and Constable Daniel Fedechko, both members of the tactical [SWAT] team, were in an unmarked police SUV. When Beaver approached the walkway, the officers activated their emergency lights. Beaver turned around, placed his backpack on the ground and raised his hands. He lowered himself to the sidewalk.
Constable Fedechko, pistol in hand, approached alongside Olason. Olason put his foot on Beaver’s head, forcing him into the ground while Fedechko straddled him. Another officer followed with baton strikes, and a fourth fired a taser into Beaver’s back. Olason stood on Beaver’s arm and kicked Beaver in the head while bracing himself on a wall. Beaver recalled writhing in pain on the ground, trying to protect his head from the blows. He described feeling electrical current from the taser up and down his spine. After around a minute, one of the officers placed him in handcuffs. During the attack, the bear spray Beaver had in his jacket went off and seeped through his clothing, adding to his agony.
In his testimony, Olason claimed that kicking Beaver was a “distractionary technique,” that Beaver, who was prone on the ground, was going to use the bear spray in his possession to attack police. Fedechko had earlier testified that Beaver had pointed a canister of bear spray at police.
The security video played in the court shows no such thing. In fact, it collaborates Beaver’s testimony and contradicts the police. The video shows four heavily armed police officers dressed in military gear with heavy weapons act exactly as described by Beaver.
Olason testified that he did not stomp on the compliant Beaver with his full weight. He said Beaver was non-compliant because he removed his backpack while putting his hands above his head and lying down on the ground. He blamed Beaver for giving “threat cues” but the video shows none of this to be true. Olason testified that Beaver was resisting. It was Sergeant Dustin Adsett who electrified Beaver with a taser. Olason testified the taser didn’t work because Beaver began “thrashing” on the ground. The video did not collaborate Olason’s testimony.
The verdict arrived just after 3:00 p.m, today. Not guilty. This just a year after Sergeant Adsett was acquitted of charges in the same incident. Judge Kent Davidson sharply criticized the police for their action, finding that Beaver suffered an “assaultative arrest” despite trying to comply with police; however, the jury could not hear his comments as they were not entered in evidence.
This writer can only surmise that police officers in Canada are legally entitled to use any degree of force, to lie about it in their reports, perjure themselves in courts, and continue on as if just another day at the office. A journalist from another media agency remarked it is “un-fucking-believable that they get away with this shit over and over again.”
This writer reached out to the Edmonton Police but they refused to comment.
You can see the video [here].
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