Violent arrest caught on video in a Mississauga restaurant
Published October 31, 2024 at 1:47 pm
Videos circulating on social media show a man injured during an arrest in Mississauga.
The videos show several Peel Regional Police officers inside a restaurant using force to arrest a Black man. In one video, an officer has an arm around the man’s neck as another officer grabs the man’s arm as he attempts to escape.
Another video shows the man being hit and flung to the floor. He continues to try to leave but officers hold him while he is handcuffed. Blood appears on the floor and the man becomes limp.
The arrest happened inside Parish 14, a Caribbean restaurant in a plaza at Dundas Street East and Hurontario Street, according to a news report from CBC.
Const. Tyler Bell-Morena, spokesperson for Peel police, told INsauga.com the man was arrested on Monday around 5 p.m. as part of a drug trafficking investigation.
He faces charges of obstructing police and possessing cannabis for the purpose of trafficking, Bell-Morena said. He said a large quantity of cannabis was seized.
The man arrested told CBC he wasn’t doing anything wrong and only had a small amount of cannabis for personal use, and a restaurant staff member at Parish 14 said she thought the force police used was excessive.
Attempts to contact Parish 14 were not immediately returned.
The man also said he believed he was targeted because he is Black.
Peel Police use of force statistics from 2023 show Black people are disproportionately arrested by force. In 2023, 276 Black people were arrested with use of force compared to 196 white people. Peel’s population in 2023 consisted of 9.87 per cent Black people and 29.18 per cent white people.
Bell-Morena said police had grounds to arrest the man and he physically resisted that arrest.
“Officers are doing their job when they’re making an observation of an offence and they try to affect the arrest,” Bell-Morena said. “It just so happens that the individual is Black.”
He said this particular plaza has been the subject of ongoing community complaints for drug activity, loitering and trespassing. Officers from the Community Intervention Response Team regularly patrol the area.
While the staff member suggested arresting the man in the restaurant put other people at risk, Bell-Morena said the officers could not wait until he left the establishment. He said police can’t risk the destruction of evidence or continued criminal activity in the restaurant.
In response to concerns that the force was excessive, Bell-Morena said the man was sent to hospital and the scene was held. He said the man didn’t lose consciousness.
“Anytime someone indicates that they are believed to be unconscious, we want to have them looked at neurologically,” he said. “He was cleared medically.”
The blood on the floor was due to a cut on his lip, he added.
This type of use of force encounter happens often, Bell-Morena said.
“I’ll say, quite frankly, this wasn’t overtly different from struggles that happen every single day,” he said. “The the difference here being that it was caught on video and has gone somewhat viral.”
When officers have grounds to affect an arrest and they inform you that you’re under arrest, taking physical control is required, he said.
“When you’re informed that you are under arrest by an officer, you actually don’t have a legal right to resist,” he said.
The man has a right to file a complaint, he added.
Asked why the Special Investigations Unit was not called, Bell-Morena said in this case, his injuries did not meet the threshold.
The SIU told INsauga.com it may be because the individual who was arrested did not suffer a serious injury.
The SIU’s investigative jurisdiction is limited to cases where there was a serious injury, death, sexual assault or the individual was fired upon.
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