Yellowknife RCMP have released their account of a “simple arrest” they say turned into a police pursuit, following allegations Mounties forced a filming family to hand over her cellphone.
On Wednesday Dec. 5, around 10 p.m., a lone officer arrived at a city home to arrest 19-year-old Tristan Rabesca for failure to comply with a court order, according to a news release issued by Mounties on Friday.
The Mounties say Rabesca fled on foot when he was told he was under arrest, prompting a pursuit by the officer. During the chase, Rabesca “continued to resist arrest and assaulted a police officer,” the news release alleges.
The officer called for backup and multiple officers responded, stated the news release. Rabesca was taken into custody and subsequently charged with failure to comply with a court order, escaping from lawful custody, resisting a peace officer and assaulting a peace officer.
On the same night, a woman named Patricia Lafferty, who identified herself as Rabesca’s stepmother, took to a popular community Facebook page to recount her side of the story where she said she was able to record part of the arrest on a cellphone.
She wrote that she was recording the cops when they slammed the vehicle's door on her stepson’s leg.
Lafferty alleged an officer saw her recording the arrest and tried to take her cellphone away. She wrote that the officer threatened to arrest her if she didn’t comply. After relenting and handing the phone over, Lafferty alleges a Mountie deleted the cellphone footage. She said Rabesca told her an officer had punched him in the face and that he was bleeding.
Rabesca – with Lafferty in attendance – appeared in Yellowknife’s Justice of the Peace court Thursday. Rabesca had multiple lacerations on his nose and face.
In Friday’s news release, RCMP stated Rabesca sustained “minor injuries” – for which he received medical treatment – as a result of him fleeing from police and the “subsequent actions he is charged with.”
During the incident, police say an officer deployed a high-voltage conducted energy weapon. Introduced by Mounties in 2001, the Taser is a “less lethal intervention option that allows police to protect the public, and the subjects themselves from harm,” according to the RCMP’s website.
Yellowknife RCMP’s account of their contact with Lafferty differs from what she alleged online, along with her later comments to CBC North.
“During this event, RCMP obtained a video recording made by a bystander, with their permission, as evidence to support the judicial process,” states the RCMP news release.
“The cellphone was immediately returned to the owner.”
Lafferty declined to comment when reached by Yellowknifer.
“This incident highlights the challenges and dangers an RCMP officer can be subjected to in the course of their duties,” stated RCMP spokesperson Marie York-Condon in Friday’s release.
“A simple arrest turned into a pursuit of the subject in freezing cold temperatures over rough terrain. The officer maintained control of a fluid situation and was able to bring the person into lawful custody and preserve the peace. We are thankful the officer only suffered exposure during this encounter and that no one was seriously injured,” stated York-Condon.
Asked on Monday if the phone was turned over freely – without the threat of arrest – to police with Lafferty's permission, and whether or not the footage had been deleted, York-Condon stated, “we confirm we have a copy of the video, and that it was obtained with the owner's permission.”
York-Condon did not specifically address allegations that said permission was achieved through threat of arrest.
York-Condon, citing the Criminal Code, stated officers have the authority to seize evidence without warrant in “exigent” – demanding – circumstances. That can happen, she wrote, “if an investigating officer believes there could be a risk or loss of evidence, or to prevent destruction of … evidence.”
“Common Law” authority also grants officers the authority to request copies of evidence – from a cellphone or security camera – with consent from the lawful owner. If the owner doesn't consent and an officer believes evidence could be lost, a seizure could take place without warrant.
There are no laws that prohibit members of the public from filming or recording police officers executing their duties in public or in an area where the person recording is lawfully allowed to be.
Filming bystanders can't interfere with police work, but the act of simply recording an incident doesn't always constitute obstruction of justice.
Rabesca made a brief court appearance on Tuesday.