Lawyers for three officers accused of beating a man while in handcuffs appeared in a Calgary court Wednesday.
Constables Mike Sandalack, Kevin Humphrey and James Othen each face a charge of assault causing bodily harm in connection with the arrest of 34-year-old Clayton Prince in July.
READ MORE: Alberta police watchdog cites ‘dishonesty’ of Calgary officers charged with assault
Othen and Humphrey also face two charges each of public mischief. Othen faces an additional charge of assault with a weapon after allegedly digging the point of a key into Prince’s neck during the arrest.
Prince, who had been handcuffed at the time, was allegedly beaten so badly that he suffered broken ribs, a collapsed lung, cuts to his face and other injuries.
READ MORE: Man arrested by Calgary police suffered broken ribs: ASIRT
Prince said he drove to Calgary for a music festival and admits he was high on marijuana when he was pulled over by police.
He said that’s when he took off. Security video obtained by Global News shows Prince running through a sushi restaurant moments before the alleged assault.
“I got down to (the) ground right away with my hands behind my head,” Prince said. “One officer got to me and started hitting me, then a couple other officers got there and they were all hitting me.”
The incident was reported to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) after investigators found police dash cam video.
Othen’s lawyer, Alan Hepner, said he expects his client will plead not guilty.
When asked how Othen was doing, Hepner would only say, “when a police officer is charged it’s always stressful.”
The case is expected back in court Nov. 10.
All three officers are free on bail pending trial.
-With files from Tracy Nagai
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