Shocking surveillance footage has shown a Calgary cop slamming a handcuffed black woman face-first to the floor and breaking her nose in w...
Shocking surveillance footage has shown a Calgary cop slamming a handcuffed black woman face-first to the floor and breaking her nose in what a fellow officer has described as the 'worst use of force he has seen in 30 years'.
Calgary Police Constable Alex Dunn was charged with assault causing bodily harm over the violent incident that took place during the arrest of Dalia Kafi back in December 2017 in Calgary, in the western Canadian province of Alberta.
Dunn is currently standing trial for the alleged assault but has not been fired from the force and is currently working in an administrative role.
Video played at his trial Monday shows the police officer flipping Kafi to the ground in a 'judo-style throw' causing her face to bounce off the concrete and leaving her lying in a pool of blood.
A Calgary cop is on trial for slamming a handcuffed black woman face-first to the floor and breaking her nose in what a fellow officer has described as the 'worst use of force he has seen in 30 years'. Pictured the footage of the incident above
The shocking footage of the incident was shown to the court this week and provincial court Judge Michelle Christopher agreed to release it to members of the media.
It shows the officer approaching Kafi, 26 at the time, who is stood in handcuffs with her back against the wall inside a police arrest processing facility.
Dunn reaches up to Kafi's head and tries to pull off the headscarf she is wearing.
Kafi tries to lean away from him but Dunn yanks it off her head.
The cop then forcefully hurls her to the ground face first in one swift motion with her face visibly bouncing off the ground.
Dunn has a hold of Kafi's wrists that are handcuffed behind her back and her arms are held in the air as she lies still on the ground for a moment.
Kafi is seen stirring slightly while Dunn continues to hold her arms and look down at her on the ground for several seconds making no motion to check her injuries.
Another male officer then walks over about 15 seconds later and Dunn steps away.
The officer helps Dafi to her knees and blood spatters can be seen along the floor from the alleged victim's face.
Another two male officers emerge in the frame and one is seen putting on medical gloves.
There is no audio in the footage.
Calgary police Constable Alex Dunn was charged with assault causing bodily harm during the arrest of Dalia Kafi in December 2017 in Calgary. The shocking footage of the incident was shown to the court this week at Dunn's trial
It shows the officer approaching Kafi, 26 at the time, who is stood in handcuffs with her back against the wall inside the police arrest processing facility. Dunn reaches up to Kafi's head and tries to pull off the headscarf she is wearing
The cop then forcefully hurls her to the ground face first in one swift motion with her face visibly bouncing off the ground
A fellow officer told the court it was a 'judo-style throw' and said he heard the alleged victim's facial bones crack on the ground
Dunn has a hold of Kafi's wrists that are handcuffed behind her back and her arms are held in the air as she lies still on the ground for a moment in a pool of blood
Kafi was taken to hospital where she needed stitches in her lip and underwent surgery for a broken nose.
Calgary police Staff Sgt. Gordon Macdonald testified his colleague's actions were the 'worst use of force' he had seen in his 30-year career and said he could hear the black woman's bones crack as her face struck the ground.
'There's only one type of sound when somebody's bone hits the floor and that's what I heard,' he said from the witness box, according to CBC.
'I advised [Dunn] that it was the worst use of force that I had seen,' said Macdonald.
Macdonald, who was the commanding officer at the arresting unit, said Kafi was 'flinching back' from Dunn when he hurled her face-first in a 'judo-style throw', answering 'no' when asked if Kafi had acted in a way that would have justified the use of force.
He said the black woman was complaining about her arrest but was in no way threatening or aggressive toward any of the officers.
He said he feared the worst for Kafi after seeing and hearing the assault and called paramedics.
Macdonald said it was standard practice for the arresting officer to accompany arrestees to the hospital but he made the decision it was not appropriate for Dunn to remain in the 26-year-old's presence.
Other officers arrive and Kafi is taken to hospital where she had stitches in her lip and surgery for her broken nose. Dunn is currently standing trial for the alleged assault but has not been fired from the force and is currently working in an administrative role
The alleged assault took place in December 2017 when Dunn arrested Kafi over allegedly breaching a court-ordered curfew.
Kafi said she had been to a friend's house braiding hair on the night of December 12 when she realized she was out past her curfew of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m..
She told the court a friend was driving her home when they were pulled over for turning on a yellow light.
Kafi said she gave cops her sister's name at first because she was violating her curfew.
She then admitted her real name to Dun and was arrested, handcuffed and taken to the arrest processing unit.
She said she was told to stand against a wall to have her photo taken when the incident took place.
Judge Michelle Christopher agreed to release the shocking footage
The black woman told the court she passed out for a moment after striking her head off the ground, coming round to realize her face was covered in blood.
Kafi's mom let out a guttural noise and left the courtroom after she saw the disturbing footage of the alleged assault on her daughter Monday, CBC reported.
Dunn was charged with assault after concerns were raised by colleagues and an internal investigation was launched.
The cop was suspended with pay for a year while awaiting trial but, after delays due to COVID-19, he has been allowed to return to work in 'non-operational functions,' Calgary police said.
The force's internal disciplinary process, which will be completed after the trial, will also determine if Dunn's use of force was reasonable and what disciplinary action, such as dismissal, should be taken.
'To ensure the court process is not unfairly influenced, we are limited in regard to completing our internal disciplinary process until the court process is finished,' police said in a statement.
'In general terms, police officers are trained to de-escalate conflict and to use the least amount of force necessary to safely resolve a situation.
'We expect them to follow the law, our policies and our training.'
The case comes one month after a judge ruled that several Calgary cops laughed at and mocked a black man who was bitten by a police dog.
Judge Heather Lamoureux ruled in September that Latef Reakwon Tag El Din, 24, had his charter rights of life, liberty, and security of person violated by several Calgary police officers when they mocked him as he begged to be taken to hospital for his injuries.
The judge slammed the cops for carrying out a 'cruel and unusual punishment' and causing the black man to 'suffer needlessly.'
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