Kamloops RCMP reviewing tense interaction, rough arrest caught on video

Tabitha Sabyan recorded the video and posted it to Facebook.

In messages with CFJC Today, Sabyan says before she began recording, the man and woman in the video — Brandon and Shan — were arguing.

Sabyan says a short time later, the Kamloops RCMP member, whose vest displays the name ‘D. Tucker,’ pulled up in his cruiser.

Sabyan says Tucker wrestled Brandon to the ground and placed him under arrest.

Once the recording begins, Sabyan can be heard telling the officer not to be rude.

Sabyan says that’s when Tucker grabbed her phone and tried to break it before throwing it away.

Before Sabyan could retrieve her phone and resume recording, she says Tucker threw her to the ground and knelt on her back, relenting when bystanders told him Sabyan is pregnant.

Sabyan resumed recording, capturing an interaction between Tucker and Shan in which Tucker draws both his taser and his sidearm, pointing it at a dog that Shan is holding on a leash.

Shan passes the leash to a person off camera before Tucker wrestles her to the ground and places her under arrest.

Sabyan says Tucker initially told Brandon he was arrested for causing a scene in public, then later told him he matched the description of an assault suspect from an incident that took place a short time prior.

Sabyan says both Brandon and Shan were later released without charge.

Contacted by CFJC Today, Kamloops RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley released this statement:

The Kamloops RCMP is aware of the video posted to social media depicting the arrest of two individuals by one of our officers from this past Monday. While we cannot speak to the specifics of the video at this time, we continue to conduct a full review of the circumstances leading up to the arrests as well as the actions of our officer. We are mindful that no charges have been laid against anyone depicted in the video, and that the video only provides a small portion of all of the circumstances. We are also mindful that while the Criminal Code provides the authority for police to use force in order to affect an arrest, the courts have provided that that force must be both reasonable and necessary. Without a complete understanding of the full circumstances, it would irresponsible for us to jump to any conclusion based on the context of this one piece of evidence.

by James Peters

Kamloops RCMP reviewing tense interaction, rough arrest caught on video

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