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Edmonton Journal

ASIRT clears Edmonton police officer who repeatedly punched arrestee in the head; man's lawyer disputes finding on who threw first punch

Article content Alberta's police watchdog is not recommending charges against an Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officer who repeatedly punched a man during an arrest, concluding that the arrestee threw the first punch. Article content That determination is being criticized by the man's lawyer, who says there's little evidence to support the finding. Article content On Tuesday, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) released its report on the Feb. 22, 2023, arrest in a Cromdale apartment parking lot, which was captured on surveillance video. Article content Article content The clip, which lasts less than a minute, shows the officer approaching a man from behind, grabbing him and throwing three punches during a scuffle. Both men fall to the pavement, after which the officer throws four more punches to the man's head. Article content Article content ASIRT assistant executive director Matthew Block — who, according to an email obtained by Postmedia, is taking over as the agency's acting head after current director Michael Ewenson was tapped to run Alberta's new police misconduct agency — concluded the arrestee threw the first punch. Article content The man's lawyer, Heather Steinke-Attia, said she is confused how Block reached that conclusion. Article content 'How can you say that my client punched (the officer)?' she said in an interview. 'You didn't even give consideration to the possibility that what he was doing was holding up his arms in self-defence, as an instinctive human reaction to anticipating somebody punching you.' Article content Article content The incident happened as the man, whom Steinke-Attia declined to identify, returned to his apartment after a trip to the gas station around midnight. The officer claimed he and his partner followed his vehicle because it was speeding. Article content Article content The man parked in a covered parking area and was soon confronted by the officers. He told ASIRT he reacted to the officers' politely and was told to 'get back to your f—ing car.' The officer told him he was speeding. When he asked if he was free to go, the officer allegedly replied yes. Article content The officer, who Steinke-Attia identified as Matthew Forde, told another story. He exercised his right as a suspect not to agree to an interview with ASIRT but submitted notes claiming the man was screaming profanities and began suspiciously rooting around in his car. He denied telling the man he was free to leave. Article content The officer's partner said she did not see the suspect attempt to punch her colleague, but said this might have been because she was busy drawing her Taser.