SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife woman says she watched in horror as police repeatedly kicked her roommate in the face while arresting him.

"I covered myself so I didn't have to watch anymore. I was afraid for (his) safety," she said Wednesday while testifying at her roommate's territorial court trial for assault, assaulting a peace officer, uttering threats and resisting arrest.

Lyle Richard Omilgoituk, 32, pleaded not guilty to the charges against him on Sept. 14.

Cpl. Mark Caswell of the Yellowknife RCMP admitted in court that he kicked Omilgoituk two or three times in the face as Omilgoituk was on his knees refusing to be handcuffed in his apartment. Caswell said he had to replace his boots afterwards because the blood couldn't be cleaned off of them.

The man's roommate testified that on Sept. 5, 2010, Omilgoituk returned to the residence around 11 p.m. after a night of drinking. He complained he had injured his ankle after being "jumped" by six men. He accused her and her son of being involved, she said. She testified that Omilgoituk told her in the bedroom that he "could cut her son's face and watch him bleed to death" and he "could crush her throat."

Her son later testified that, upon hearing her call his name, he rushed into the bedroom, turned on the light and struck Omilgoituk in the head with a 30 cm weightlifting bar - causing a deep and bloody cut on the man's forehead.

Fearing Omilgoituk was seriously hurt, her son said he tried to phone an ambulance but mistakenly called the RCMP. He told the dispatcher that Omilgoituk "fell."

When the ambulance arrived, Omilgoituk refused treatment, and eventually signed a waiver allowing the ambulance attendants to leave.

Caswell, who has seven years service with the RCMP, testified he received a call at around 5:44 a.m. to provide assistance to the ambulance. When Caswell and his partner arrived, he became suspicious of the claim that Omilgoituk's cut was due to a fall, especially after noticing the woman's scared and timid demeanor, and Omilgoituk's agitated and angry behaviour. After speaking with the woman, the two officers tried to place Omilgoituk under arrest for uttering threats.

Omilgoituk broke free and shoved Caswell onto a nearby couch, Caswell said. Omilgoituk then raced down the hall as four officers, including Caswell, pursued him. They caught up to him as he tried to enter the woman's bedroom. Omilgoituk allegedly continued to resist arrest, at which point Caswell pepper sprayed him. He said this had "absolutely no affect."

Caswell's "only option," he testified, was to punch Omilgoituk "two to three times" in the face. Omilgoituk slid down to his knees, but still refused to be handcuffed. As Omilgoituk tried to stand up, Caswell "deployed two to three kicks to his head."

Officers were then able to handcuff both his legs and wrists in front of his body, said Caswell. The police officer acknowledged that at five-foot-10-inches tall and weighing 200 pounds, he is bigger than Omilgoituk. Defence lawyer Jay Bran estimated his client to be five-foot-seven-inches tall and 170 pounds.

As the officers left the apartment, they became concerned Omilgoituk, allegedly still trying to break free, might knock one of them down the stairs. Caswell decided they should drag Omilgoituk head first and "face up" down the three flights of stairs, shirtless and wearing only boxer shorts, in a "controlled fashion," he explained.

At the RCMP detachment, Omilgoituk was charged at 6:50 a.m., strapped in a restraining chair and then placed in the drunk tank.

Bran chastised the officer on the stand, first for not leaving the residence after the ambulance crew left because the RCMP's only role was to provide support for the ambulance crew. Bran also criticized Caswell for not leaving when Omilgoituk initially asked him to, and then later re-entering the apartment "uninvited and unwelcome" and without a warrant.

Bran was especially critical of Caswell failing to get medical attention for the cut on Omilgoituk's forehead, even when Omilgoituk was strapped in the restraining chair in the drunk tank.

Judge Christine Gagnon adjourned the trial until Feb. 1, when Crown prosecutor Duane Praught is expected to continue calling witnesses in the case.

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