|
WINDSOR, Ont. A cop caught on surveillance video beating a manin an apartment building stairwell has been suspended by Windsorpolice. Const. Kent Rice, a 12-year veteran of the force, was charged withassault and suspended with pay Wednesday afternoon, acting policeChief Al Frederick told a hastily called news conference late inthe day. In the morning, a director of the Windsor Residence, a non-profithousing corporation run by a volunteer board with city funding,delivered a copy of the video to the police department'sprofessional standards branch. The branch investigates allegedpolice misconduct. Frederick said investigators identified Rice as the police officerin the video. The video was recorded on Feb. 22 beginning at 2:18 a.m. at theWindsor Residence building on McDougall Avenue. Frederick told the Windsor Star that investigators got a copy ofthe officer's report on the incident filed at the time. Frederickwould not divulge what the report said. "I can tell you unequivocally this it's verydisappointing," Frederick said of the incident. The incidentcame one month after Frederick unveiled a 27-point plan to restorethe public's faith in the police service following media reportsabout instances of police brutality and coverup. The city's last police chief resigned in the midst of calls by themayor for changes to the "culture" at the Windsor PoliceService. The Star received a copy of the video late Tuesday. The housingboard member who supplied the video told the Star he made it clearto investigators he'd gone to the newspaper first. He wanted "public oversight" of the police investigationto make sure the incident would not be "swept under therug," he said. Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis, head of the police services board,said he saw the video for the first time Wednesday when it wasposted on the Star's website. "Words cannot begin to describe what I'm thinking.Regrettably, because of the charges against this officer, I can'tsay what I want to say," he said. "This is criminal conduct. We don't tolerate this." The video shows an officer dressed in uniform walking through ametal door near a stairwell and approaching a young man lying onthe floor. The officer bends over, apparently speaking to the man,then punches him in the head. The man writhes on the ground.Seventeen seconds later, the officer kicks the man in the stomach.The man writhes on the ground again. When he sits up against thewall, the officer kicks him again, in the hip. The officer looks up and appears to notice the surveillance camera.The officer walks in the camera's direction looking down, adjustinghis tuque and obscuring his face. For most of the rest of thevideo, he keeps his back to the camera. The officer never kicks orpunches the young man again. The video ends with the officerplacing the man in handcuffs. The video sporadically skips forward for a few seconds at a time,but at no time during the video does the young man act aggressivelytoward the officer. Frederick confirmed Wednesday that the man, a 22-year-old Windsorresident, was released by the officer and was never charged withany crime. Frederick said police were called to the apartment building tobreak up a fight. Rice was one of four officers who responded butwas alone during the altercation. The board member said he believes the beating victim was a guest ofa resident in an apartment used as an emergency shelter unit. The man is black and the officer is white, but Frederick declinedto describe the incident as a hate crime. The mayor said the city owes a debt of gratitude to the man whomade the video public. The man said the incident was brought to thehousing board's attention a month ago, but some directors wereafraid to bring it to police for fear of police reprisal. The Windsor Residence houses the homeless, people with mental andphysical disabilities and people with drug addictions. Rice's suspension came a day before Det. David Van Buskirk convicted of brutally beating a doctor outside the Jackson ParkHealth Centre in 2010, then falsifying reports about the incident was sentenced Thursday to 30 days in jail on a charge of publicmischief. Van Buskirk has withdrawn his appeal of a five-month jailsentence on a charge of assault causing bodily harm to Dr. TyceerAbouhassan. Van Buskirk reportedly mistook the doctor for a man who hadharassed his 12-year-old daughter. He falsely claimed Abouhassanhad attacked him and Van Buskirk had the doctor charged criminally. The incident, also captured on surveillance video, was investigatedby a provincial watchdog agency that subsequently charged VanBuskirk instead. ssacheli@windsorstar.com. I am an expert from heated-clothingbattery.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Heated Clothing Battery , Custom Lithium Ion Batteries Manufacturer, Heated Clothing Battery,and more.
Related Articles -
China Heated Clothing Battery, Custom Lithium Ion Batteries Manufacturer,
| 
