Arrest video prompts protest outside EPS headquarters

A group of people gathered outside the Edmonton Police Service headquarters downtown on Sunday afternoon to protest the use of force during an arrest last Thursday.

EPS says a police officer responded to a fight between two women, one of whom had a knife, in the area of 100 Street and 106 Avenue that afternoon.

The officer asked the woman to drop the knife but she refused and walked away, police said in a statement on Friday.

"The officer considered his use of force options, given the suspect was armed, and determined pushing her to the ground would require the least amount of force possible to allow him to safely arrest the suspect," the statement read.

The 12-second video does not show what led up to the incident. With the video zoomed in, an object appears to fall out of the woman's hand when she's pushed.

The officer seized a knife and the woman was arrested for possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, police said.

EPS reviewed the arrest and said there were no grounds for an investigation.

Protesters on Sunday called the shove "gross behaviour."

"Especially to one of our most vulnerable: A small, little woman who was actually walking away and had her back turned on him, and therefore wasn't expecting a hit of that magnitude, and of course it sent her flying," said Judith Gale with the Bear Clan Beaver Hills House.

"He's darn lucky she never hit her head and died right there on the sidewalk."

Gale called on police to release CCTV video they have of the arrest but EPS said it would not make it public.

Rob Flamant, who addressed the crowd at the protest, said the video "absolutely disgusted" him.

Another protester, Michelle Nieviadomy, told CTV News it was important for her to raise the issue of systemic injustices and stand with the community.

EPS was aware of the protest and said it reached out to organizers to support their rights for a safe demonstration.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Joe Scarpelli