Video has been released by a family that shows a man being beaten by a Calgary police officer while handcuffed.
The incident happened during an arrest two years ago and the officer has since been charged.
The suspect, who family identified as Daniel Haworth, was arrested after officers were called to the 700 block of 9 Street S.W on May 25, 2015. The suspect had reportedly broken into his ex-girlfriend’s home.
This weekend, Robert Haworth, the brother of the man beaten, is speaking out about what happened and released the video of the incident to Global News.
“The attack was so vicious, that I was completely shocked,” Robert Haworth said.
Robert watched the video for the first time on Thursday.
The CCTV footage of the incident shows a handcuffed Daniel being punched in the head three times by an officer, who then throws Daniel to the ground.
“I didn’t think that someone could be attacked that aggressively by someone who was supposed to be protecting us. My father was a police officer and so, I kind of have this picture of cops being heroes,” Robert said.
Officers said that Haworth received serious head injuries during the incident and was taken to hospital.
“At this time, an altercation took place between one of the officers and the man, resulting in the man being thrown to the ground while handcuffed,” Calgary Police Services said in a statement.
Sources identified the officer involved as Constable Trevor Lindsay, who is also named in a lawsuit still underway for an alleged 2013 assault.
Last week, police announced that Lindsay had been charged with aggravated assault in connection with the 2015 arrest.
The six-year frontline CPS member charged with assault was one of the transporting officers in the incident.
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The following statement was sent to Global News from Lindsay’s lawyer, Don MacLeod, on Saturday:
“I can only confirm that my client maintains his innocence, intends to advance a vigorous defence and will respond only at the appropriate time and manner in a court of law where all of the evidence will be considered.”
The surveillance video was given to Daniel Haworth by his lawyer, before Daniel died last year of a fentanyl overdose at the age of 35.
“It’s very difficult to watch….someone you love being hurt. It was very hurtful and disappointing and shocking,” Catherine Haworth, Robert’s wife, said.
READ MORE: Calgary police officer charged with aggravated assault also named in 2013 lawsuit
The father of three had been trying to beat his addictions. His family said he had attended several Calgary rehab facilities.
“He had a big heart, he was generous, he was hard-working. He was a good father and a good brother,” Robert said.
Daniel and Robert’s father was a Calgary police officer and it was a police officer who tried to save Daniel’s life after the overdose.
“There are many wonderful police officers and this shouldn’t take away from them. There was a police officer who worked for 18 minutes on Danny to bring him back to life, so that we could say goodbye to him. We are forever grateful,” Catherine said.
The Haworth family says Daniel was diagnosed with a traumatic head injury after the beating and that he was never the same.
“We don’t have any delusions. We know that Danny could be a handful at times. He was super intelligent, so he would kind of get under people’s skin but no matter what he said, he didn’t deserve what had happened. That was extreme,” Robert said.
“He was a sweet soul. Very smart and he wanted to get help and get healthy. And he worked very hard at it,” Catherine said.
The Haworths said they don’t harbor any ill feelings towards Calgary police but they do “want Lindsay to be removed from his job.”
“We do hope that he stands up and says he’s done something wrong. I hope that he accepts it. That would be huge for our family,” Robert said.
Above all, they don’t want something like this to happen again.
“It (being a police officer) is a difficult job and not everybody can do it,” Catherine said. “It’s mentally and emotionally straining. We hope that there will be resources put in place for those officers who are starting to feel overwhelmed, that are getting tired and need a mental break.”
Lindsay is on administrative leave with status under review and none of the allegations have been proven in court.
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