DISARM, DEFUND, DISBAND
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“The state conduct here, as described, risks undermining the integrity of the judicial process.”
Matthew Black - EDMONTON JOURNAL - Yesterday
© Provided by Edmonton Journal
© Provided by Edmonton Journal
A police officer's holstered Taser X26 stun gun.
Charges against a man have been stayed after a judge ruled an Edmonton city police officer broke policy and used excessive force when he deployed a stun gun.
Cory Badger of Edmonton was charged with being unlawfully in a dwelling house and obstructing a peace officer after a June 11, 2021, incident at a house near Whyte Avenue and 110 Street.
Police were called before 7:30 a.m. that morning when the woman renting the house found a man on her back deck and told police he was refusing to leave.
Two officers arrived, and a foot chase ensued that ended when the unarmed man was zapped with a Taser multiple times before his arrest.
Alberta Provincial Court Judge Olugbenga Shoyele ordered the charges be stayed and ruled the officer broke city police policy by using the Taser five times against the fleeing Badger, calling it “unnecessary and unreasonable.”
“The constable’s use of the Taser, in the circumstances here, where there was no clear or real risk to officer safety, was a blatant contravention of the EPS (Edmonton Police Service) Procedure,” he wrote in the May 6 ruling.
“It appears to me that the Taser was deployed out of frustration.”
Charges against a man have been stayed after a judge ruled an Edmonton city police officer broke policy and used excessive force when he deployed a stun gun.
Cory Badger of Edmonton was charged with being unlawfully in a dwelling house and obstructing a peace officer after a June 11, 2021, incident at a house near Whyte Avenue and 110 Street.
Police were called before 7:30 a.m. that morning when the woman renting the house found a man on her back deck and told police he was refusing to leave.
Two officers arrived, and a foot chase ensued that ended when the unarmed man was zapped with a Taser multiple times before his arrest.
Alberta Provincial Court Judge Olugbenga Shoyele ordered the charges be stayed and ruled the officer broke city police policy by using the Taser five times against the fleeing Badger, calling it “unnecessary and unreasonable.”
“The constable’s use of the Taser, in the circumstances here, where there was no clear or real risk to officer safety, was a blatant contravention of the EPS (Edmonton Police Service) Procedure,” he wrote in the May 6 ruling.
“It appears to me that the Taser was deployed out of frustration.”
‘Wasn’t sure what it was’
Two officers responded to the home after Badger was found sitting on the back deck, where he told the complainant his “feet hurt.”
The chase began when officers arrived to the call and Badger fled.
Const. Carson, one of the two officers, testified that Badger appeared to be reaching for something as he was being pursued.
“(He) turned and started reaching down to his waist or rotating by his waist and holding some sort of object. I wasn’t sure what it was.”
The object was later determined by a plastic sports drink bottle.
Carson eventually closed to within four metres of Badger and warned him that he would use his Taser as Badger began to climb a nearby fence.
When Badger continued to climb, Carson deployed the Taser, eventually cycling the device five times and sending Badger to the ground from his position near the top of the fence.
‘Could result in death’
Crown prosecutors noted the Criminal Code grants police the authority to use “an allowable degree of force” and that EMS personnel found no significant injuries to Badger after his arrest.
But Badger’s lawyer argued that he could not have been a threat to Carson as he was climbing the fence with his back turned to the officer at the time he was hit with the stun gun.
He also argued the use of force was disproportionate and violated EPS policy, given Badger was not accused of any violent conduct.
Shoyele sided with Badger and challenged Carson’s assertion that he was at risk.
“How is it feasible for someone to simultaneously rotate as if to pull a firearm and climb a fence?”
Shoyele also cited the five times the Taser was used and how it struck a fleeing Badger’s rear torso and head, noting both actions are against EPS policy.
“The EPS Procedure unequivocally discourages multiple deployments … particularly when a suspect is fleeing from an officer, given the possibility that multiple activations … could result in death,” he wrote.
The stay means Badger is found neither guilty or not guilty.
Shoyele wrote the stay was necessary to preserve confidence in the justice system.
“The state conduct here, as described, risks undermining the integrity of the judicial process.”
mblack@postmedia.com
@ByMatthewBlack
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