An officer of the Edmonton police service testified last Tuesday that he punched indigenous man repeatedly to protect himself.
Constable Curtis McCargar appeared in court for the second session of an assault proceeding involving squad member Constable Michael Partington. Judge Peter Ayotte is presiding over the case.
Last year, Partington was charged after a footage surfaced showing him kneeing Eliot McLeod as another officer, McCargar, held him.
McCargar informed the court that he was running a routine patrol in the areas around 115 Avenue and 95 Street, on the 27th of August, 2019, when McLeod was seen riding on a sidewalk. His bike did not seem to have a bell or horn, which is against the law.
He added that then, his concern was the safety of the pedestrians and the biker. He went on to say he felt there was reasonable cause to think McLeod was acting contrary to the law, so he pulled him over and asked for a name.
McCargar said that right from when he started a conversation with McLeod, he was argumentative.
According to the witness who capture the footage, McLeod did not offer resistance. But McCargar said that McLeod tried to twist towards him, which is why he struck him. He added that he hit him to derive compliance, and he did so as hard as he could.
On his part, McLeod said that the officer knocked him off the bike, an occurrence that the witness corroborated in his testimony.
McCargar added that when his fellow officer arrived, he immediately delivered a knee into McLeod’s back. In the footage, which was played in court, McLeod was heard screaming in pain and asking the officers to stop.
McCargar was the last witness in the case. He was not charged.
