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Judge in Canada releases video of cop kicking homeless man down

The incident was captured on a security tape on May 7th in 2012 when the officer, Constable Robert Kenneth Power, 39, pulled his cruiser over in front of a detox center in Regina. He got out of the cruiser and walked toward a man who was sitting on a concrete abutment in front of the center.

The man, Edward Stonechild, 44, gets up and moves toward the officer and he has his right fist closed and appears to be poised to fight. Mr. Stonechild looks to be intoxicated and is in what could be described as a fighting stance as he slowly moves toward the officer.

As the video clearly shows, Constable Powers does not hesitate to propel a ‘push kick’ into Stonechild’s stomach and the man falls back, hitting his head on the concrete. The officer turns him over on his stomach and cuffs him.

Mr. Stonechild was bleeding and had to be hospitalized, but recovered. The courts heard that the man is HIV positive and hepatitis-C-positive. From the moment he gets out of his cruiser, Constable Power has on gloves so it appears he may have been aware of the man’s conditions.

The incident became public in 2012 and Constable Powers was convicted of aggravated assault and dismissed from the police force by his commanding officer. However, he appealed his conviction and won and was reinstated to the Regina police force in 2014.

When Powers’ conviction was overturned the Queen’s Bench judge in that trial ruled that his actions that day were consistent with standard defence tactics, and were a legitimate response to the manner in which Mr. Stonechild approached him.

That ruling was appealed to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal by the Crown in November; the Crown said they will argue that the judge made several errors when he overthrew the conviction.

No date for the case to go to court has yet been set but Justice Robert Richards released the footage after an appeal from CTV News and the Regina Leader-Post.

Constable Powers is back working though he lost 13 months of pay during the time he was dismissed from the force. He is being required to take a course and will be monitored at times, for a time, while on duty.

Screengrab of YouTube video showing Regina cop kicking homeless man.

Screengrab of YouTube video showing Regina cop kicking homeless man.
YouTube / TheLadBuzz

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