EXCLUSIVE: Windsor, Ont. police conducting ‘review’ after video appears to show officer swiping phone out of man’s hands

A video is circulating on social media, showing a Windsor police officer swinging at a person’s phone, prompting concerns. CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru reports.

A video circulating on social media is raising questions about the conduct of a Windsor police officer — and the service confirms it has launched a review.

The footage, posted to social media and shared with CTV News by the man who recorded it, appears to show an officer knocking a cellphone out of his hand while he was filming.

The video captures part of an interaction between the officer and Kevin Lassaline in a grocery store parking lot on Feb. 21.

At one point in the recording, the officer’s hand can be seen moving toward the phone. The camera then jolts abruptly out of frame.

Lassaline, who told CTV News he was panhandling at the time, says police approached him in the parking lot.

However, the moments leading up to the phone being knocked are not captured in the video.

Lassaline had been asked by store management to leave the property multiple times before police were called, according to multiple sources.

In a second video provided to CTV News, the officer is seen leaving the scene. In that clip, he discloses his badge number and says goodbye to Lassaline by name.

“We are aware of the video circulating and have initiated a review of the circumstances,” a Windsor police spokesperson said in a statement.

The head of the Windsor Police Association, Kent Rice, said he will wait until the police service releases more details about the full interaction before providing a statement.