

Chris Herhalt, CP24.com





A bystander who is seen on video interacting with a suspect while an officer was placing him under arrest has been arrested and charged with obstructing a peace officer.

The video of the arrest, which took place outside an LCBO outlet in a North York mall on Nov. 27, went viral and sparked a renewed debate about police tactics and the role of bystanders who witness aggressive arrests.

On Wednesday, a Toronto police spokesperson slammed the conduct of bystanders seen surrounding and shouting at the police officer who was attempting to restrain and arrest the suspect. In the video, a bystander in a Blue Jays jacket is seen reaching out and holding on to the suspect being apprehended by police. He is the bystander who is facing charges.

Police spokesperson Mark Pugash says that the officer was on paid duty at the liquor store, and had the authority to determine who to allow in and who to keep out. Pugash said the man was behaving "erratically" and it caused the officer concern.

Pugash said the officer was going to give the young man a trespass notice, when the man pulled his hands out of his pockets and allegedly struck the officer in the chest area of his vest.

Ajith Thala and a friend were at LCBO at Sheridan Mall when they saw a police officer tell the young black man he was not allowed to enter.

Thala filmed the encounter and posted it on Facebook, chastising the officer for his aggression during the arrest.

In his post, Thala said the officer told him the suspect “walked into the liquor store and threw garbage at my feet.”

Thala said the officer then punched and pinned the man.

“The officer was punching the gentleman and tackled him down aggressively with his knees on his neck,” he wrote.

The video shows the officer repeatedly telling people around him to stay back and get off. The officer repeatedly radios for a car and officers to support him.

Bystanders crowd around the officer, who is crouched on top of the man he’s attempting to arrest. The bystanders alternate between shouting obscenities at the officer and telling the officer the man being arrested has done nothing wrong.

At one point in the video, the man wearing the Toronto Blue Jays jacket is seen holding on to the man the police officer is attempting to detain. After about four minutes, backup arrives and the young suspect is put in the back of a cruiser.

Pugash says the video shows the bystanders were obstructing the police officer from doing his job.

"When people are arrested it can look messy but it is absolutely unacceptable to interfere or obstruct a police officer making an arrest."

Toronto Police Association President Mike McCormack says the bystanders’ actions in this instance “crossed the line,” and increased the “potential for escalation of force by the officer.”

“We understand people videotaping or watching what we do as police officers, but when you get right in there and are obstructing that police officer, that is a criminal offence.”

McCormack said Chief Mark Saunders has indicated to him that police will conduct an investigation into the bystanders’ conduct.

There appears to be an increasing trend where bystanders “demonize” or “villainize” Toronto police officers, McCormack said.

On the night of Oct. 3 police withdrew from Yonge-Dundas Square during Nuit Blanche as a crowd assembled there marched toward them. McCormack said officers in the Jane and Finch area had rocks thrown at them recently.

“If people want to complain about a police officer’s behaviour, we have more avenues than you can possibly imagine to pursue those complaints,” McCormack said. “But you should not interfere with an officer while they are doing their duty or making an arrest.”

The suspect who was denied entry into the store was charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest, Pugash said. He will appear in court sometime next month.

The bystander in the Blue Jays jacket was arrested on Dec. 1 and is expected to appear in court Thursday.