Hamilton police say they have forwarded a video to their professional standards department that shows an officer lunging at a woman during a call for a complaint about a neighbour.
The service’s corporate communicator Jackie Penman confirmed a call was made Thursday afternoon and that two officers had an interaction with a resident at an undisclosed Hamilton address.
The video shows the two officers attempting to talk to a resident through a partially opened door, which escalated when one of the officers was interrupted.
“Can I finish my sentence?” one of the officers said to the woman in an escalated tone as he proceeded to suggest to her she would be arrested if damaging another person’s property.
The officer would then lunge at the resident upon leaving after she said “enjoy your bullying of the position.”
The video has been shared numerous times on social media and has many reacting to it.
“Notice how she never raises her voice, yet he accuses her of being ‘unreasonable’ and not listening,” and “@HamiltonPolice so you condone this type of bullying behaviour by your officers? Threatening to attack someone in their home,” were just some of the comments posted to Twitter.
Hamilton police are not commenting further on the incident but did say they acknowledge that “public trust and accountability” are integral to their work and insist the service is committed to “upholding” those values.
In a statement on Friday afternoon, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger also said officers in the service “rightfully” should be held to the “highest standards of professionalism and integrity” and have a duty to treat members of our community with respect.
“A recent video showing a tense interaction between a resident and two Hamilton Police Service officers is concerning,” said Eisenberger.
“The incident is now under investigation and I look forward to the outcome.”