Assault trial for Kelowna, B.C. RCMP officer continues

Kelowna RCMP Const. Siggy Pietrzak, accused of one count of assault against Tyler Russell, appeared in court again Monday.

Back in May of 2020, two RCMP officers were trying to arrest Russell under suspicion of impaired driving. The court heard that the pair struggled for nearly two minutes, before a third officer, Pietrzak, intervened and struck Russell repeatedly in the face.

Two cellphone videos shot by witnesses at the time of the incident were presented in court Monday. Senior RCMP officer, Staff Sgt. Leonard McCoshen, was again brought in by the Crown as an expert witness.

When the defence asked if delivering so many blows to the face was in line with RCMP training, he said, “I would agree that one or perhaps two punches in a distractionary purpose would have been appropriate. It’s the other strikes that I’m not agreeing with”

Back in June, McCoshen said he counted nine punches delivered in the video shown in court. Today, the defence asked, “If there was an assumption that Pietrzak assessed the situation and you knew what he was thinking, would you change your opinion?” To which McCoshen responded, “He did what he did. His actions speak rather than his thoughts. I’m not in a position to understand what he was thinking.”

The court also learned that officers instructed Russell to get on the ground immediately, but he did not comply. One of the officers saw a black object in Russell’s hand and thought it was a weapon. McCoshen testified that that would have heightened Pietrzak’s risk assessment, although he was not certain what the black object was in the video or who was even holding it.

After footage of the arrest was made public, Petrzak was put on administrative duty and then suspended with pay.

He was charged with assault roughly a year later.