Calgary police officer guilty of assault for slamming woman into ground

Calgary police officer convicted for assault A Calgary police officer was convicted Thursday for assaulting Tara Dalia Kafi. Chris Epp reports.

Calgary — A Calgary police officer has been found guilty of assault causing bodily harm for slamming a woman into the ground face first at the arrest processing unit in 2017, and CPS officials say his status is now being reviewed in light of the conviction.

Const. Alex Dunn, 34, was convicted on Thursday for the assault on Dalia Kafi.

Both Dunn and his lawyer, Cory Wilson, shook their heads as the decision was read, and Wilson said outside court an appeal is likely.

"There's a lot of concern, both from me and from my client about certain findings of fact that we absolutely disagree with, and I have no doubt that that is going to be one of the significant basis of our appeal here," he said.

"There's no doubt there is a visceral reaction from watching this video, and we never have a problem if our clients get convicted, but when they're properly convicted. And we have significant concern after talking to my client, about a lot of these findings of fact, which is why you saw both of our heads shaking."

Dunn was "very, very upset" by the verdict, said Wilson.

"He felt confident going into it, he understood that visceral reaction we all have from watching that video, but he did have a defence."

Surveillance video of the incident, which was released by the court, shows Dunn, then a nine-year veteran of the force, standing in the lower portion of the screen before Kafi, who is handcuffed with her hands behind her back, walks into the frame.

Dunn motions for her to stand next to a wall, which she does, and  walks over to her and appears to reach for something on her head. Kafi pulls away and the two struggle for a few seconds before the officer slams her onto the ground. She appears to land head first.

Dunn continues to hold her arm for a few seconds, then another officer enters and Dunn backs away from Kafi. More officers enter the frame soon after.

They help the woman up and what looks like blood can be seen on the ground where she originally was. Paramedics arrive minutes later.

Dunn said as part of his defence that he thought Kafi had slipped from her cuffs, which is why he slammed her to the ground. While reading the decision, the judge said she didn't find that version plausible.

"That's one of the issues is we don't understand how she was able to come to that finding of fact," said Wilson.

Status now under review by CPS

Dunn was relieved from his CPS duty with pay and had been performing administrative duties awaiting conclusion of the trial.

In a statement, CPS said his status is now under review.

"The video of (Const.) Alex Dunn is very difficult to watch and the criminal trial is not the only step in the accountability process for this incident," read a CPS statement.

"Concerns about this incident were initially raised by a supervisor who witnessed the incident and, after an investigation, we laid the charge against the officer. Constable Dunn is also the subject of an internal investigation which will measure his actions against the expectations of our service and the community. This process will take into account the criminal conviction, as well as the evidence presented in the case and the judge's reasons for the conviction.

"Police officers are trained and expected to de-escalate conflict where possible. When they must use force, they are expected to use the least amount of force necessary to safely resolve a situation. At the conclusion of the disciplinary process, penalties up to and including dismissal are possible."