Calgary police officer resigns ahead of disciplinary hearings for allegedly violent arrests

Officer resigns to avoid discipline hearing Calgary police officer Const. Trevor Lindsay has resigned from the force, which means he won’t face a disciplinary hearing.

Calgary — Calgary Police Service officials confirm an officer, who was previously convicted of aggravated assault, has resigned from the force ahead of his impending disciplinary hearings.

Const. Trevor Lindsay was to face a disciplinary hearing in connection to his actions in the December 2013 arrest of Godfried Addai, a Black Calgarian.

Addai, who was 26 years old at the time, had been travelling with friends when their vehicle became stuck in the snow in the southeast community of Ramsay.

An officer spotted the stuck vehicle and, according to the officer's statement, encountered an aggressive Addai. The 26-year-old was handcuffed, placed in a police van and driven to the East Village where, according to Addai, he was left to face the bitter cold.

Addai called 911 for help and Lindsay was dispatched to the East Village.

In court documents, Lindsay claimed he felt threatened by a swearing, aggressive Addai and he responded by pushing Addai to the ground.

Addai says he attempted to run away but his effort was halted when Lindsay discharged a stun gun.

Surveillance video gathered from a HAWCS aerial unit appeared to show Lindsay punching, kneeing and dragging Addai.

CPS confirms Lindsay's resignation

The CPS confirmed in a statement to CTV News Thursday that Lindsay would not be facing a disciplinary hearing as he had tendered his resignation.

"Trevor Lindsay no longer works for the Calgary Police Service and his last day was Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. Prior to that, he was relieved from duty without pay.

"Mr. Lindsay was to have a disciplinary hearing this fall to face a charge under the Police Service Regulations of Unlawful or Unnecessary Exercise of Authority for allegedly applying inappropriate force during the 2013 arrest of Godfred Addai-Nyamekye. An internal disciplinary process was also pending for his conviction of the aggravated assault of Daniel Haworth, but that process could not start until the court process for the criminal charges in that case was finished. These two internal processes would have decided if discipline is warranted and what discipline, up to and including dismissal, would have been appropriate in those cases.

"While officers can still face criminal charges after their employment ends, we do not have the authority under Alberta’s Police Act to continue internal disciplinary proceedings when a police officer is no longer employed by the Service."

Lindsay was convicted in 2019 in connection with the violent arrest of Daniel Haworth in the spring of 2015 following a break-in investigation. The handcuffed man was punched from behind three times before being thrown headfirst to the ground outside of the arrest processing unit. Haworth suffered a fractured skull and a brain injury.

A date for Lindsay's sentencing hearing on his aggravated assault conviction was expected to be decided this week.