A Calgary police constable who witnessed the July 2016 arrest at the centre of an assault trial testified Tuesday.
READ MORE: Trial begins for Calgary police officers facing assault, public mischief charges
“There was no meaningful attempt to immediately place handcuffs on the suspect,” Const. Chris Harris told court.
He said handcuffs were only put on after the suspect was struck by other officers.
WATCH: A witness officer in the assault case of three Calgary police officers testified handcuffs were only put on after the suspect was struck by the accused. Gary Bobrovitz reports.
Three officers are on trial in connection with the arrest of Clayton Prince, who the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) previously alleged had been assaulted by the officers both before and after he was handcuffed on July 30.
READ MORE: Alberta police watchdog cites ‘dishonesty’ of Calgary officers charged with assault
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Harris said Tuesday he pulled his service revolver and ordered Prince to go to the ground after the suspect ran away from officers during a traffic stop on Macleod Trail.
During his testimony Monday, Prince admitted he ran from police, saying he didn’t have a valid driver’s licence and was carrying a small amount of marijuana. He admitted he had smoked marijuana and snorted cocaine with friends prior to the incident.
Prince said a police officer caught up to him and pointed his gun, telling him to get to the ground. He testified he was kneed by at least one officer and punched by possibly several officers while lying on the ground. He claimed he was not resisting.
Watch below from Aug. 21: A trial began Monday for three Calgary police officers who are charged with assault during an arrest. Gary Bobrovitz spoke with the man at the centre of the case.
Harris also testified Monday.
“The arrest was much more violent than I would have liked,” Harris told court Monday afternoon.
READ MORE: Man alleged to have been hurt in arrest by Calgary police officers speaks out
Constables Mike Sandalack, Kevin Humfrey and James Othen each face a charge of assault causing bodily harm. Othen also faces a charge of assault with a weapon. It’s alleged the officers caused injuries including broken ribs, a collapsed lung, cuts to the man’s face and “significant bruising.”
Humfrey and Othen also face charges of public mischief.
The ASIRT investigation alleges the officers lied by saying the 34-year-old man resisted an officer when evidence suggests he did not.
ASIRT began investigating the case after the discovery of police dashcam video of the incident.
Various pieces of dashcam video are being played in court during the trial.
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