Publication date: Sep 22, 2022 • 7 hours ago • 3 min read • 12 comments Edmonton police, in response to a video showing an officer pushing a woman to the ground, released CCTV footage on Thursday, September 22, 2022, confirming that they carried a knife on September 15. Photo by Supplied /Edmonton Police Service

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Edmonton police on Thursday, in response to a video showing an officer pushing a woman to the ground, released CCTV footage confirming he was holding a knife.

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During an Edmonton Police Commission meeting Thursday, Acting Chief Devin Laforce said the officer’s response was reasonable given the circumstances of the incident. Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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“The use of force is an unfortunate reality of policing, but it is required to control the situation and prevent further incidents to the individual, the public and the officer involved,” Laforce said. The two-minute, 32-second video shared by Edmonton police is a series of CCTV video angles stitched together that show a woman in the area of ​​100 Street and 106 Avenue on September 15. She is seen pulling a knife from her belt while interacting with another person on the street. After about 90 seconds, an Edmonton police vehicle arrives on the scene. The woman walks towards the vehicle and walks away from the other person as the officer gets out. Seconds after exiting the vehicle, he is seen pushing the woman to the ground and arresting her.

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Video of the woman being pushed to the ground made the rounds on social media last week, sparking a protest outside Edmonton police headquarters calling for the video to be released. Police previously said the woman was not injured and no charges were filed. “Unfortunately, the reality is that situations like this happen on our roads, probably every day,” Lafors told reporters after the committee meeting. “The result was that neither the police officer nor the perpetrator involved were injured.” While it took a week for police to release the video, Laforce did not dispute the timing.

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“I know it took a while because there are a lot of videos that were actually sent to us,” he said. “Of course, the investigation itself had to come to a conclusion, we had to make sure there was no further follow-up or perhaps future charges to be laid. And then, of course, we had the committee meeting this Thursday, so I think the timing was fantastic.” He said the officer’s use of force was “very fair, all things considered. “I think it all made sense from my perspective, but I appreciate that everyone has different perspectives.” Edmonton police, in response to a video showing an officer pushing a woman to the ground, released CCTV footage on Thursday, September 22, 2022, that confirms he was holding a knife. Photo by Supplied /Edmonton Police Service During the committee meeting, Staff Sgt. Joe Tassone said the officer had other options available, such as a less-lethal or possible deployment of a firearm, but chose not to.

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“There was the ability to end a confrontation and control the situation because the subject’s attention was momentarily diverted, which allowed that member to take advantage of that opportunity,” he said. “We educate our members that if there is an opportunity because the public’s risk is taken higher than ours, then we will take that step.” Nina Laderoute has experience working with homeless people and watched the protest over the weekend outside Edmonton police headquarters. She came to Thursday’s committee meeting and said she was happy police had released the CCTV footage, but her position on the officer’s action had not changed. He said the officer could have handled it differently, such as grabbing the woman’s wrists from behind and arresting her. “It worries me because if they think this is OK, committing an assault is OK,” he said. “I think we need to question that and look for more evidence and make sure it’s not worse than some people think because a lot of us have seen worse than this video without a gun involved.” [email protected] Twitter.com/JunkerAnna

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