Falsely Arrested for Taking Public Photography
I was arrested by 2 officers at the Commonwealth Community Rec Centre for taking public photography as is my Canadian Charter 2 (b) right. The CS Security barred the doors and wouldn't let me in because I had a camera. Then the called the police who arrested me within a few seconds, handcuffed me so tight it left cut marks on my wrists and threw me in the back of a dark police van with little to no air. They refused to let me call a lawyer or see a supervisor. They took my ID without a legal reason to do so. The issued me a ticket for trespassing - on a publicly owned and operated property - and drove me across the street during which time my head bumped against the shallow ceiling several times. They issued me a 600 dollar ticket. These are the kind of goons you can expect to run across as you live your life peacefully in Edmonton, breaking no laws and not bothering anyone. Until the Chief of police Dale McFee sends out a memo or provides a training course on public photography laws this kind of thing will continue to happen. I hope those communities in Edmonton who are familiar with police brutality and false charges based on their defining qualities or communities will fight back against this injustice. Public photography is not a crime! This happened on Easter Monday btw. If this is the best the EPS has to offer by all means go ahead and defund them.
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