The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) for the RCMP has found that two officers used "unreasonable" force in the "unlawful" arrest of a Barrhead man nearly three years ago.
The final report, seen by Great West Media, marks the end of a two-year long complaint and review process instigated by the man arrested, Kyle Hughes.
Hughes has now begun a civil suit against Const. Adam Harack and Const. Benjamin Tapp, the officers involved, and the Attorney General of Canada for damages related to the incident.
The RCMP agreed to recommendations that the officers receive operational guidance on the use of force, de-escalating situations, avoiding causing unnecessary pain or aggravating injuries, and other matters related to their duties.
Additionally, the RCMP will consider reimbursing Hughes for medical expenses “incurred as a result of the unreasonable use of force on his person.”
On Nov. 17, 2020, the officers arrived at Hughes’s apartment in Barrhead to arrest him on a charge of mischief under $5,000, following a complaint from Hughes’s ex-girlfriend that he had damaged the side mirror of her vehicle.
The report details the exchange that followed.
While speaking with Hughes at his front door, one of the officers told Hughes to get his ID because he was under arrest "for mischief". When Hughes went to grab his ID from his bedroom, the officers followed him into the home, without consent or a warrant, the report said.
Inside, Const. Harack threatened to handcuff Hughes if he didn’t put his shoes on, and Hughes told them he had to sit down to do so because of a spinal injury, according to the report.
After a serious fall from the roof of a house in 2016, Hughes said he received a hardware implant in his shoulder which greatly reduced his range of motion and had undergone a spinal surgery in the weeks before the incident.
Hughes asked about the mischief charge and what property he is alleged to have damaged and was told he could "go to court and figure it out!”
The officers then tried to handcuff Hughes. In audio captured by Const. Tapp’s in-car video recorder, Hughes can be heard saying "I'm not resisting" and one of the officers tells him “Your hands are going behind your back!” Hughes' arm was incapable of moving in that direction because of his past injury, the report said.
In the struggle to handcuff him, Hughes fell forward. One of the officers then attempted to use their knee as leverage in his lower back, at the site of recent surgery, according to the report.
“I have a spinal cord injury!” Hughes yelled, and repeatedly told the officers to “Get off me” and “Get off my shoulder.” He can be heard screaming and sobbing loudly in the recording, the report noted.
Hughes was eventually handcuffed with his arms in front and taken to the lobby of his apartment building, where he was handcuffed to the stairs’ railing. There, he was brought release documents and told he was under arrest for the mischief charge and resisting arrest.
After signing the documents, an ambulance was called for Hughes at his insistence.
The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service has since stayed the charge of resisting arrest, and the criminal mischief case resolved in Hughes' favour.
The initial RCMP investigation into the incident, completed in January 2022, concluded that because the officers hadn’t gained informed consent to enter the apartment or properly informed him of his arrest, and the arrest should not have taken place. However, it made no specific comment on the use of force.
The officers maintained the force was a direct response to Hughes’s “active resistance” during the arrest.
Hughes appealed. After a second investigation, the CRCC determined that “the use of force was unnecessary, unreasonable and unlawful in the circumstances,” and the “amount of force used was also in itself unreasonable and unnecessary.”
The report affirms that the arrest was unlawful and that the officers were not wearing masks as required by the RCMP's COVID-19 policy then in place.
Hughes also alleged he was told he would be denied medical attention unless he signed the release documents. The CRCC ruled there wasn't evidence to support this, though one of the officers had asserted Hughes would go to jail if he refused to sign.
“This final report was a lot more validating,” Hughes said. “I had the feelings of accomplishment and pride, but then also mixed with disappointment. Because I found the consequences for the officers to be quite lacking considering the egregiousness of the incident.”
A spokesperson for the RCMP said that the recommendations are tasked to the originating division, and the RCMP does not comment on CRCC reports “in order to respect the process and the privacy of those involved.”
In a civil suit filed in early September of this year, Hughes sued Harack, Tapp, and the Attorney General of Canada for damages related to cost of his injuries, lost income, and legal fees from his criminal defence. The suit claims that Hughes needed another surgery because of the incident and has suffered aggravation of his back and shoulder conditions.
The allegations in the suit have not been proven in court, and Great West Media has not seen a statement of defence, if filed, as of press time.
“Kyle is somewhat of an exceptional plaintiff in how meticulously he has documented his injuries. And that will certainly help him,” said Hughes’ lawyer Chris Wiebe.
His detailed medical record, and the formal recognition that the arrest and use of force were illegal and excessive gives Hughes a strong case, Wiebe said.
Even so, civil lawsuits can take a very long time, Wiebe said. “Certainly upwards of five years is common.”
The prospect of the case stretching on for years is mentally stressful, Hughes said, and makes it impossible for him to move on.
“Before court filings and things like that, I have to make sure that what I'm saying is completely accurate. And because of the fact that I have a recording of the incident, that means I have to review the recording every single time,” Hughes said.
“It's disturbing to listen to, and it brings the blood pressure up.”
Hughes said the accountability of the RCMP feels “incredibly weak” to him. The investigator of his initial complaint was an active duty RCMP corporal, and Hughes felt the investigation “was very protective” of Harack and Tapp.
“My belief is that policing is a necessary service, but the individuals involved must be held to a higher standard. They have a duty of a higher standard,” Hughes said.
“I am hoping that all of this engagement, that and this suffering that I'm putting myself through for a long time, can be used for reform and actually creating true accountability for misconduct.”
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