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
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.