RCMP release dashcam footage in response to social media video of Lac La Biche arrest

Lac La Biche RCMP held a press conference Friday to address video circulating of a man's arrest on Tuesday.

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The video, posted on Facebook and circulated by multiple news outlets, shows the man walking toward a police cruiser and putting his hand up on the vehicle before he's slammed to the ground by a Mountie.

RCMP have since released additional video showing the interaction leading up to that, caught by the officer's dashboard camera.

According to RCMP, the lone officer was responding to a call from a family member of the man, saying he was intoxicated outside the home, being "verbally aggressive" and refusing to leave.

In the RCMP video, the officer can be seen leading the man around the front of the cruiser.

The two disappear from view briefly before the officer can be seen backing away as the man lashes out at him. RCMP said the officer was punched in the head.

The officer can be seen firing his Taser twice, unsuccessfully.

At multiple points during the interaction, the man appears to walk away from the officer before turning around and moving back toward him in what officers called an "aggressive" manner.

The last portion of the dash camera footage shows the man walking around to the side of the cruiser with his hands raised in what appears to be compliance. RCMP said this is when the officer "moved in quickly to gain control."

"I want to point out that early on, when (the officer) first took control of the suspect or attempted to, he had his left arm and (the man's) right arm went to a fist, the officer noted that he did stiffen up," RCMP Staff Sgt. Greg Stannard said. "The reason I mentioned this is that he (the man) had the same stiffening up at the side of the car, where he actually brought him to the ground."

After the man was handcuffed, RCMP said he was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries sustained in the arrest. He was then taken to the detachment and charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

Stannard said the Mounties chose to release the additional video to give context to the arrest.

"I can't read the officer's mind, but I can tell you that he's been in a position where he's been struck," Stannard said. "Even though he (the man) shows some cooperation, he basically proved that may not be reliable in the fact that he was showing cooperation before he actually struck the officer."

The RCMP has initiated its internal review process.

The Hamlet of Lac La Biche is located about 170 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.