BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO
RCMP are calling for two independent investigations by an external police force after two suspects and an RCMP officer were injured while making arrests during two unrelated incidents in Behchoko on Dec. 14.

52 year-old Alfred Thomas sustained injuries while resisting arrest at a residence in Behchoko on Dec. 14, according to police. RCMP have called for external investigations into two separate incidents in which three people, including one police officer, were injured Dec. 14. - photo courtesy of Facebook

"They ended up having two people in two different circumstances that got into a fight with the police," said RCMP Const. Elenore Sturko.

In one of the incidents, RCMP received a call from a woman who said a man had ripped a phone off the wall and had been trying to fight. The woman feared the man would become violent and fled the residence to call police, according to an RCMP news release.

Police attended the residence, where they located 52-year-old Alfred Thomas in a bedroom. The officers proceeded to arrest the man but "he became violent and began to fight them."

The officers were eventually able to gain control of him, however, both he and an RCMP officer sustained injuries as a result of the "lengthy struggle."

In the other incident, which was unfolding simultaneously at another residence, Kevin Rabesca sustained injuries while being placed under arrest.

RCMP responded to a call from a woman reporting that her intoxicated boyfriend was refusing to leave her residence, police say.

As one of the officers at the residence attempted to arrest the 38 year-old man, he became violent and tried to fight the officer. According to a news release, the police officer was able to "gain control of the male" and take him into custody the suspect was "injured during the fight."

The man was treated for his injuries at the Behchoko Health Centre and subsequently charged with mischief, assaulting a police officer, and resisting arrest.

In an audio recording of the first arrest, which was posted online by Behchoko resident Boronica Thomas, an officer can be heard trying to keep a group of people calm as the arrest takes place. At one point, a woman can be heard saying "they're beating him" as a police officer repeatedly tells witnesses to "back the (expletive) up" and "chill."

Shortly thereafter a man can be heard screaming in the distance while another man who identifies the screaming man as his father says, "My dad is going crazy" before threatening to hit the officer.

"What the hell kind of cops are you?" asks one of female voice in response to the commotion.

'You hit my dad'

As Thomas is being removed from the house a man can be heard saying, "Look at my dad's face ... you (expletive) hit my dad."

Alfred Thomas' daughter, Bianca Thomas, confirmed the authenticity of the recording but declined to comment further.

Sturko would not comment on the video or provide any more details about the arrest as it is under investigation.

While the RCMP aims for peaceful resolutions in all instances, Sturko said the two incidents should serve as reminder that it is a criminal offence to resist arrest regardless of whether one thinks they are innocent.

"You don't actually have any grounds to resist arrest in Canada," she said.

"When the person is being arrested they do have rights under the Charter of Rights (and Freedoms). They have the right to be told why they are being arrested, you have the right to speak with a lawyer, they don't have to self-incriminate, they can not speak to us if they don't want, but you don't have the right to fight against your arrest."

Sturko said there are proper avenues to dispute the grounds for one's arrest, including filing a complaint against the RCMP or disputing the charges in court.

"Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and it's through our justice system that you are going to be able to dispute what you are being accused of," she said.

Sturko could not say which agency was going to be investigating the two incidents.

Two other incidents involving RCMP in the territory currently remain under investigation by the Medicine Hat Police Service. One of those is related to the 71-year-old mother of Fort Resolution's chief, Louie Balsillie, who was allegedly elbowed in the face by an RCMP officer on Sept. 20. The other occurred in Fort Liard after a woman had to be medevaced following her arrest on Oct. 17.

Sturko said she could not to provide updates about either investigations as they are currently ongoing.

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