The Novum Times

Tears as Indigenous man describes aftermath of officer’s kick to head

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The Novum Times
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Native Information Crime

“What Const. Ben Todd did wrecked our household,” Irene Dumas stated as she comforted her son.

Printed Apr 28, 2023  •  4 minute learn

Irene Dumas and son Pacey answer questions about the Alberta's police watchdog slamming the actions of a police officer who kicked Pacey in the head, but says it will not proceed with charges because prosecutors have declined to take up the case. Irene is holding a picture of her son Blair who was also there when Pacey was kicked in the head. He later died by suicide. Taken on Friday, April 28, 2023 in Edmonton. Greg Southam-Postmedia
Irene Dumas and son Pacey reply questions in regards to the Alberta’s police watchdog slamming the actions of a police officer who kicked Pacey within the head, however says it is not going to proceed with expenses as a result of prosecutors have declined to take up the case. Irene is holding an image of her son Blair who was additionally there when Pacey was kicked within the head. He later died by suicide. Taken on Friday, April 28, 2023 in Edmonton. Greg Southam-Postmedia Picture by Greg Southam /Greg Southam

Pacey Dumas’s life modified eternally when an Edmonton police officer kicked him within the head.

However at a press convention to debate the prosecution’s resolution to not criminally cost the officer, Dumas’s ideas persistently turned to the affect the ordeal had on his brother.

Throughout an emotional half-hour in entrance of a financial institution of cameras Friday afternoon, Dumas and his household revealed Blair Dumas died by suicide 15 months after witnessing Const. Ben Todd ship a “soccer model” kick to Pacey’s head outdoors their mom’s west Edmonton residence.

“He needed to see every thing,” stated Dumas, 20, crying and gripping his mom’s hand as she held a portrait of her late son. “He needed to dwell with that. I can’t put it in phrases, I suppose.”

“I’ve to dwell with that each day, lacking my brother,” he added. “He stated he ought to have carried out one thing however he couldn’t. He at all times stated that.”

The Alberta Severe Incident Response Staff (ASIRT) launched a scathing report on Todd’s actions Thursday, however stated it could not proceed with expenses after the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute the case. 

Heather Steinke-Attia stated the choice suggests a pro-police bias on the a part of ACPS that’s shaking public confidence within the justice system.

“ASIRT has, on a number of events, concluded that felony expenses needs to be superior towards a police officer in a sure set of circumstances, and the Crown’s workplace has repeatedly come again and decided behind closed doorways and with out clarification to not prosecute.”

“This creates a terror of police bias and cries out for clarification.”

In 2021, Dumas’s household launched a $400,000 lawsuit towards Todd, Police Chief Dale McFee and officers who witnessed the arrest. The defendants have denied any wrongdoing.

Steinke-Attia stated her shopper can be contemplating the unusual step of launching a non-public felony prosecution towards Todd.

‘Wrecked our household’

In his resolution Thursday, ASIRT govt director Michael Ewenson stated Todd (who ASIRT identifies solely because the “topic officer”) kicked Dumas Dec. 9, 2020, whereas responding to his mom’s residence after a 911 name from a 3rd occasion claiming a male had a knife at one other location.

Police attended the house and ordered Dumas — who stands five-foot-six and weighed 90 lbs — to crawl in the direction of them on his stomach. Todd carried a carbine rifle and was backed by two extra officers, one carrying an ARWEN baton launcher, in addition to a canine unit. Neither Pacey nor Blair had a felony file.

An impartial eyewitness stated one of many officers yelled at Dumas then kicked him within the face “as if you happen to’re kicking … a soccer ball.” Dumas’s unconscious physique was then handcuffed, till paramedics repeatedly requested police to take away the restraints and rushed him to hospital.

The officers on the scene stated Dumas advised them he had a knife and disobeyed orders by reaching for his waistband — a declare Dumas disputes. A search of Dumas’s physique revealed no knife, whereas a blade discovered throughout a subsequent search of the realm was deemed to don’t have any connection to the incident.

Dumas spent 9 days in hospital, throughout which a chunk of cranium was eliminated to alleviate stress on his swelling mind. Greater than a 12 months handed earlier than surgeons put in a steel plate to shut the opening.

Dumas, who lives in Little Pink River Cree Nation, stated he struggles to work, examine and dad or mum his younger baby. At one level, a tear landed on the portrait of Blair, who died March 23, 2022.

“What Const. Ben Todd did wrecked our household,” Irene Dumas stated as she comforted her son.

Crown gives few particulars

In a press release Thursday, the ACPS stated it opted to not cost Todd — who stays on paid go away — as a result of two prosecutors from the Calgary appeals and specialised prosecutions department didn’t imagine there was an inexpensive probability of conviction.

Greg Ball, ACPS issues advisor and authorized counsel, declined to elaborate on why prosecutors didn’t suppose a conviction was attainable, given the officers’ personal proof and the presence of two civilian witnesses. He stated Part 25 of the Felony Code permits officers to make use of pressure, and that proving the pressure was extreme “is essentially a really excessive burden to satisfy.”  

Ball additionally declined to determine an exterior use of pressure knowledgeable retained to supply an opinion on the case, or supply any rationale for why ACPS thought such an opinion was essential.

“As a result of the knowledgeable report was ready in consideration of whether or not any expenses might be laid, it’s a confidential doc,” he wrote. “Neither the contents or the identify of the writer might be shared.”

Ball stated ACPS wouldn’t make anybody out there to reply media questions in regards to the resolution.

Steinke-Attia, a former in-house lawyer for EPS, stated she doesn’t perceive why ACPS sought an outdoor opinion given ASIRT is made up of present and former cops and prosecutors who’re consultants on use of pressure. She stated that based mostly on her conversations with ASIRT officers, the Crown’s resolution has been “extraordinarily demoralizing.”

“I imagine the investigators at ASIRT did their job completely, actually and with integrity,” she stated.

The Alberta Felony Trial Attorneys’ Affiliation, in the meantime, issued a press release Friday calling on authorities to enact a “clear assertion” rule requiring prosecutors to difficulty public explanations when selecting to not cost a police officer with against the law. Such a rule is already in place in British Columbia.

jwakefield@postmedia.com

twitter.com/jonnywakefield

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