Edmonton police fined after Black men who called for help pepper sprayed, arrested
Posted May 24, 2024 3:47 pm.
Last Updated May 25, 2024 8:34 am.
The Alberta Human Rights Commission has fined the Edmonton Police Service after ruling two Black men were racially discriminated against during a wrongful arrest.
The commission says in a decision that the two South Sudanese men are each entitled to $40,000 for “injury to dignity” they faced after calling police for help in May 2017.
The men told the commission they had witnessed a woman throwing a rock through a car window, and they made a citizen’s arrest and were waiting for police.
Court documents say the first officer to arrive pepper-sprayed the men, ordered them to get on the ground and put them in handcuffs.
The officer told the commission it was a chaotic scene, and the men were arrested while the woman was taken to a police car and given support.
Later that night, after learning more details about what happened, police took the handcuffs off on the men, helped them clean their eyes and let them go.
The documents say an officer also told the men they should feel lucky they weren’t shot.
