It was two witness videos that first raised public questions about whether or not Const. Siggy Emmit-Steven Pietrzak used excessive force during a May 2020 arrest in downtown Kelowna.
Thursday the videos were shown in court as the Kelowna RCMP officer’s assault trial resumed.
Pietrzak is accused of one count of assault on Tyler Russell, whom officers were trying to arrest on suspicion of impaired driving.
Partial footage of the incident appears to show Russell struggling with two officers before a third officer runs up and strikes him repeatedly.
After watching the videos in court, a senior RCMP officer, brought in by the Crown as an expert witness, testified he believed Pietrzak’s use of force in the videos wasn’t consistent with RCMP training and policy.
A key factor for Staff Sgt. Leonard McCoshen was the number of blows.
McCoshen explained in his testimony there could have been justification for fewer strikes as a distraction technique.
“I would agree that one or two strikes to the head would be distractionary and in this case there are more. I count four strikes to the head with no time in between strikes to assess their effectiveness or Mr. Russell’s response,” McCoshen said.
After watching a second video from another angle, McCoshen said he could see nine punches.
If Russell’s behaviour was what police call “assaultive,” that could have broadened the range of force options available to police, but McCoshen testified from what he witnessed in the partial videos of the incident Russell was just actively resistant.
Previously, two officers who were on scene at the time of the arrest testified.
One told the court he was grateful for Pietrzak’s intervention as otherwise the situation could have gotten much worse.
Another officer told the court Russell was exhibiting threat cues and he had also considered using a taser or punching Russell.
Russell was never charged in connection to the arrest.
Russell testified he wasn’t drinking and driving, but simply sitting in a vehicle waiting for a ride before the incident with police.
Pietrzak’s trial is set to return to court Friday.
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