After video surfaced on social media that showed a person in northern Alberta being kneed by a police officer seven times, the RCMP says it is conducting an internal review of the incident.
“The Alberta RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts and it’s important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent, and defendable,” the RCMP said in a news release issued Wednesday night.
“RCMP training, policy, police response and the member’s duty status will be subject to review.”
The statement came after the incident unfolded at the Flamingo Inn in High Level, Alta. According to the RCMP, someone reported that “intoxicated people (were) causing a disturbance” at the hotel.
“A lone High Level RCMP police officer arrived on scene and, finding the suspect in a very intoxicated state, attempted to arrest the male,” the RCMP said. “The male refused to follow commands and a physical interaction occurred.
“Upon arrival of a second officer, the male was successfully brought under control without further incident.”
The RCMP did not say how old the male is or whether the person is facing any charges. Police also did not say if the person was injured.
An RCMP spokesperson confirmed to Global News that a 30-second video that surfaced on Facebook showed part of the encounter.
The video shows a person lying on the ground next to a pickup truck in a parking lot. A police officer, who appears to be female, is seen kneeing the person four times and he can be heard groaning after the blows. Two people are seen standing on either side of the officer watching.
Then an RCMP vehicle can be seen pulling up and another Mountie approaches the person on the ground. The officer who kneed the person can then be seen punching the person five times.
The officer is then seen getting up and kneeing the person three more times while the officer who just arrived appears to be trying to hold the person on the ground. Both officers are then seen getting up and then the video ends.
The person on the ground did not appear to be handcuffed and was not seen hitting or threatening either officer in the 30-second video.