Red Deer lawyer charged after RCMP say she violently tried to defend alleged drunk driver

Two First Nations women say they were victims of an RCMP officers’ excessive force during an impaired driving stop in Innisfail.

They say when the female driver refused a breathalyzer test, he attempted to remove her from the vehicle but the passenger held on to her to prevent her from leaving the truck.

After she was finally removed, “the driver physically assaulted the member while he was attempting to bring both suspects under control,” reads an RCMP news release.

The passenger, say RCMP, then exited the vehicle and assumed “a fighting stance and threatened the member’s life.”

Both the officer and the passenger were injured in the altercation.

Desiree Friesen, 24, is charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, assaulting a peace officer, resisting arrest and refusing to provide a breath sample. Laura Phypers, 37, is charged with assaulting a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer and uttering threats.

But women claim the altercation began when Friesen requested assurances that the straw on the breath sample device was a fresh one and then questioned why they were being arrested.

“A lone officer . . . immediately escalated to the use of extreme force to rip Ms. Friesen from the vehicle,” lawyer Andrew Phypers, the brother of Laura Phypers, said in a statement.

“Ms. Friesen became entangled in her sweater and seatbelt, causing her to choke.”

He said when his sister came to the aid of her friend, she was struck in the head and chest at least seven times while Friesen’s head was slammed repeatedly into the gravel road by the officer, breaking the woman’s nose and inflicting a concussion and extensive bruising.

A photo provided of Laura Phypers, who’s a criminal lawyer, shows a swollen and discolored left eye.

A spokesman for Alberta RCMP said they stand by their news release on the incident, adding there’s a process for members of the public to lodge a formal complaint.

“There wouldn’t be a formal investigation unless a formal complaint is made,” said Cpl. Troy Savinkoff.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and the pair has been released pending a court date on June 20.