Regina man suing police officers for alleged assault caught on camera

A Regina man is suing two local police officers he says assaulted him last December.

Lawyer Tony Merchant filed the lawsuit in court on Tuesday on behalf of his client, 25-year-old James Escamilla.

Earlier this month, Cpl. Colin Magee, 44, of the Regina Police Service was charged with common assault after an investigation by the Public Complaints Commission into the December 2016 incident.

• Regina police officer charged with assault

The lawsuit names Magee and another officer as responsible for assaulting and injuring Escamilla.

According to the lawsuit, Escamilla was in a cab just after midnight on the day in questionand on his way to an overnight shift at Salvation Army'sWaterston House.

Before the cab left, a police cruiser approached the vehicle and Escamilla got out. He walked towards the officers to answer questions.

The lawsuit claims Magee askedEscamilla for his IDand the officer reached to grab it from his hand. It says Escamilla was startled and pulled his hand back. And it says Magee threw Escamilla to the ground, assisted by the other officer.

The lawsuit says both officers kneed Escamilla"in the hips and back, while kneeling on top of him and wrenching his arms."

It says at that point, Escamilla asked to speak to a supervisor and alleges Magee responded "I am the supervisor."

Alleged assault caught on tape

Alleged assault by Regina police officer

7 years ago

Duration 2:07

Alleged assault by Regina police officer

The interaction was captured by a camera on Escamilla's neighbour's house.

In the video, Escamilla is seen walking from his home to the cab. Within seconds, the police cruiser pulls up behind.

Escamilla leaves the cab and is approached by an officerhe says is Magee. Less than a minute later, he's tackled and being held on the sidewalk. Two more cruisers then arrive. Escamilla is put in handcuffs and in a cruiser.

I don't want to have to be fearful of the local police service.- JamesEscamilla

He says herefused to fill out a statement and asked if he could leave. He says he left and headed to the hospital, where he stayed for seven hours.

Escamilla says he suffered bleeding and bruising on the left side of his face, bruising on his left wrist, long-term injuries to his right knee, and psychological pain and suffering.

"We respect the police. We should have better expectation of personal treatment than was shown on that video to James Escamilla," said Merchant.

The lawsuit seeks general and punitive damages against the officers. Merchant said both are monetary and are meant to send a message to police services that "this type of conduct will not be tolerated in Canada."

"I don't want to have to be fearful of the local police service," said Escamilla. "I don't want to be fearful to walk to work or to be outside in my neighbourhood or to call the police for service."

Escamillashowed up on July 5 at a police news conference, in which the police chief was responding to the charges against Magee. He interrupted the chief's interview but later said he didn't know what he was doing was out of the ordinary.

Escamillasaid he spoke with police chief Evan Bray,but wasn'tsatisfiedwith what the chief had to say.

"I don't want to see this man's life ruined but this stuff has to be held accountable." he said.

Escamillabelieves the video helped solidify his case with the Public Complaints Commission.

"I don't know why she (his neighbour) had a camera, it's irrelevant.Thankfully shehad a camera," Escamilla said.

The amount of time between when Escamillamade his complaint, December 7, 2016, and when Magee was charged troubles his lawyer. Merchant said in addition to the surveillance from Escamilla'sneighbour, the police had their own tape of the incident.

"The delay itself is concerning and the failure to say 'we have videotapes' and disclose to the public the videotapes is also concerning," Merchant said.

Officer reassigned

Magee has never been charged with any prior offences, according toBray.

He has been reassigned to administrative duties, pending the outcome of the criminal process and an internal investigation under the Police Act.

"The decision was made, in this case, that suspension wasn't the best answer," Bray said on July 5.

"In this case, there's a lot of work we can get Cpl. Magee to do that isn't out dealing with the public."

Magee will make his first court appearance on the charge in provincial court in August.

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