A court in Calgary, Canada, was shown a video in which a police officer slams a handcuffed woman face first onto the floor.
The footage, filmed at a police station, was released during the trial of police officer Alex Dunn, who is accused of causing bodily harm following the arrest of Dalia Kafi in 2017.
The video shows Dunn escorting Kafi to the police station on December 13 of the same year. He is seen pointing to the spot where the suspect in handcuffs should be waiting to be photographed.
She stands on the spot, her back to the wall. Then he approaches her and tries to remove a cloth from her head. You can see her pulling away from the officer before she is thrown to the ground.
Shortly afterwards, several other officers appear, followed by a paramedic. There is blood on the floor.
According to Global News, the officer was suspended from duty for pay in 2019 following his indictment, but has since returned to the Calgary police force.
The department told the news website that Dunn has been reinstated in “non-operational capacities” after the delay in his court case over the coronavirus.
His trial began Monday with three witnesses called by prosecutor Ryan Pollard.
Staff Sergeant Gordon Macdonald, who was in charge of the arrest processing unit on the day of the alleged attack, described Dunn’s actions as “judo-style throwing.
“There’s only one kind of sound when someone’s bone hits the ground, and that’s what I heard,” Macdonald said in court, according to CBC. “I advised him [Dunn] that this was the worst use of violence I had ever seen.
Kafi was 26 years old at the time of her arrest and was arrested on suspicion of violating a curfew. After the incident, she had to have an operation for a broken nose and stitches for a torn lip.
Dunn, 34, said during the trial that he believed Kafi had taken off her handcuffs and that he did not intend to throw her face first.
Defense attorney Cory Wilson asked the officer if he intended to throw her to the ground face first or harm her, to which he replied “no.” The officer said he did not.
Dunn described his actions as a “dynamic takedown,” adding, “Her hand had come up and wrapped around my hand. I immediately said to her, and excuse my language, Your Honor, “What the hell, you’re supposed to be in handcuffs.
He said once she was down, he didn’t have to use force.
“I was successful in what I intended to do,” he said. “I told her, ‘Don’t go to the police.'”
