Hamilton police investigating video of officer lunging at woman

Hamilton policeare investigating avideo that surfaced on social media Thursday and appears to show an officerlunging ata woman.

In a news release Friday morning, Hamilton Police Service described the video as "concerning" and saidits professional standards branch is leading the investigation.

Officers shown on the video which is footage from a surveillance camera were responding to a neighbour dispute at the time, said police spokesperson Jackie Penman.

The footage appears to have been capturedThursday before it was released on social media. Itshows two masked, uniformed officers atthe door of a basement unit of a Hamilton home, asking to speak with the tenant.

One officer appears to pointat the camera beforespeaking with the resident, who has the door cracked open.

Tenant says neighbour wants her evicted

The footage shows the resident a transgender woman with disabilities telling theofficerher neighbour has made a complaint against her. She also says he is the superintendent and he made past complaints about her. CBC has agreed to withhold the woman's name because she is concerned for her safety.

In the video, she saysthe neighbour is trying to allow renovations that are contrary to the zoning of the home and he is trying to evict her. The superintendent is "harassing his tenant and making it construed to be the opposite," she says.

"Can I finish my sentence?" one officer says. "If you damage his property, you are going to be arrested."

The womansays she didn't damage any property.

"Please don't speak to me like that," she says.

In a raised voice, the officer says: "I'll just speak over youbecause clearly you're unreasonable and you don't listen.

"If you damage his property, you are going to be arrested.So do not damage anything.Is that clear? Thank you."

Resident accuses officer of bullying

The womansays sheunderstands and, as the officers are leaving says"Enjoy your bullying of a position."

That's when the officer is seen turningaround and lungingtoward the womanas she quickly shuts the door.

He looks up at the other officer and laughs, then leaves.

"I was feeling worried and concerned ... What if I hadn't moved out of the way after he lunged at me?" the woman told CBC News."Would he have followed through with arresting me just to cover [himself]? Would he have hit me? He acknowledged the video camera and so did his colleaguemoments before he decided to act like that.

"I literally called him a bully and he bullied me on camera," she said.

The womansaid she was told that if she wanted the officers reprimanded, she would need to file a complaint with theOffice of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD). Instead, she said she had someone post the surveillance footageto social media.

Police pledge to improve relationship with LGBTQ+ community

In a news release issued Friday morning, Hamilton police said "Public trust and accountability" is integral to the work of the service.

"And wearecommitted to upholding these values," the news release said.

Hamilton police have not saidwho in the professional services branch is leading the investigation and have notnamed the officers in the video.

Last year, after a damning report showed the force failed to stop violence at a 2019 Pride festival in the city's Gage Park, Police Chief Eric Girt apologized on behalf of the service.

Thatindependent report by Toronto lawyer Scott Bergman statedrelationship between Hamilton Policeand LGBTQ residents of the city needed mending.

As of September 2020, the service hadacted on 34 of 38 recommendations. Of those, six were complete, 28 werein progress and four hadn't started.

The woman in thevideo said she has no faith in the police to make any meaningful change.

"Their public image is just a farce," she said.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger also commented on the video, also calling it "concerning."

"Our police service members are rightfully held to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity and have a positive duty to treat all members of our community with respect," he said.

"The incident is now under investigation and I look forward to the outcome."