An Indigenous man from Alberta is hoping to have an Edmonton Police member privately prosecuted for the very first time in Alberta’s history.
Pacey Dumas, from Little Red River Cree Nation was allegedly assaulted when he was just 18 years old in December of 2020.
Edmonton Police officer Const. Ben Todd acted in a “ hasty and violent” manner according to a report filed by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team when he kicked Dumas in the head while he lay on the ground .
Dumas spent nine days in intensive care and needed extensive follow-up treatment and the kick resulted in tennis-ball size swelling on the teens head. A portion of his skull was surgically removed and replaced with a metal plate.
On March 30th, the Crown recommended that charges not be pursued despite the report stating there was reasonable grounds to believe the officer had completed an offence.
However Dumas is not giving up on his case. Almost three years later, with the help of his attorney. Heather Steinke-Attia, they are now pursuing a private prosecution with the hopes of putting the matter before an Alberta judge.
Private Prosecutions are rarely attempted in Canada and Alberta has yet to see a successful one.
Dumas is scheduled to go before a judge on Oct. 13, and If the judge decides there is enough evidence to proceed to trial, the accused will then be charged.
Dumas’ attorney is in the process of obtaining the full ASIRT report in hopes of including it as evidence. The condensed summary of the report, available online, concluded that “it was clearly a use of force that was intended or likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm.”
Dumas has also launched a civil case against the officer as well as the Edmonton Police Service.
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