An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.
Max Bird says he was walking to a bus stop in the area of 66 Street and Whitemud Drive on Oct. 14, 2023, when he came across two cars at the side of the road.
“One vehicle had its lights on. One didn’t. One had all of its windows smashed, and it just looked like it rolled over. I really thought it was an accident. I thought I was helping,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Saturday.
Bird says there was no one in either vehicle, so he waited until two police officers arrived.
“The police approached me and had their guns drawn,” he said.
“They instructed me to climb over the fence. I complied. I didn’t argue.
“I thought I’d be able to explain myself, but they didn’t even give me the opportunity.”
He says he was on his knees on the ground when he was Tasered by police.
“I was totally incapacitated. I couldn’t do nothing,” he remembered.
“I rolled over. I was on my stomach, and then they were both on my back and kept hitting me in the head.”
Max Bird spoke to CTV News Edmonton at his home on Sept. 21, 2024. (Galen McDougall/CTV News Edmonton)
Bird says at this point, a third officer arrived on the scene.
“He came along and just grabbed my arm and he wouldn’t stop. I screamed, I begged, but no,” Bird said.
Bird was taken to hospital with multiple injuries. He says he had a broken arm, dislocated forearm, torn muscles and cuts and bruises.
He says the officers accompanied him to the hospital.
“I asked for a glass of water. The guy grabs my arm and handcuffs me to the bed. It was bad enough what they did already, but 17 more hours of that in the hospital.”
“They said I was unruly and loud. How can I have a sensible conversation with someone who just snapped my arm?”
Captured on camera
The incident on the road was captured on video by EPS Air 1.
That video has been obtained by CTV News Edmonton.
As the video starts, a person says “There’s a guy that jumped the chainlink fence and he’s just going up to… it looks like a black car. We’re going to go talk to him.”
At 1:26 into the video, two officers can be seen getting out of a vehicle. They appear to be pointing guns or Tasers as they walk towards a single figure with their hands up.
The person says “He’s putting his hands up. It looks like members are directing him to hop over the fence.”
The figure climbs over the fence and gets on their knees before falling to the ground as the person says “It looks like there’s going to be a CW (conductive energy weapon, or a Taser) deployed.”
It appears the officers begin to hit the figure on the ground, who is moving around, and the person on the voiceover says “It looks like he is resisting. Officers have him on the ground.”
A still image from a video captured by the Edmonton Police Service Air 1 helicopter shows an incident involving officers and Max Bird. (Credit: Matthew Farrell)
Another vehicle arrives at the scene and a third officer gets out and joins the other officers.
A person can briefly be heard saying “Ow! Ow!”
Bird says knowing the incident was on tape, he filed a complaint with the EPS Professional Standards Branch on Oct. 17.
“They treated me less than human. It’s just disgusting.”
“They originally charged me with obstruction, and that was dropped right away, but only after I had went to the prosecutor, got the video, and then presented it to them.”
On Friday, EPS said two officers had been charged in connection with the case.
Const. David Castillo, a 10-year member of the EPS was charged with assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.
Const. Ali Hamzeh, a three-year member of the EPS was charged with assault causing bodily harm.
EPS says both officers are currently employed in non-patrol and non-supervisory positions.
They added no further comment would be provided as the matter is before the court.
Bird says the officer who broke his arm was not one of the officers charged.
“The two that started it are the only ones that are prosecuted. The one that did the damage on my arm, he’s walked away scot-free,” he said.
“He went in there and broke my arm. He dislocated it. He showed no remorse, he didn’t even say sorry.”
Bird believes the fact that he is Indigenous is a factor in the way he was treated by the officers.
“I really do believe that,” he said.
“They didn’t come to talk. They just, they just reacted. They had their weapons drawn.”
Bird’s lawyer says the charges are a good first step.
“I think that it is some recognition that something went on,” Matthew Farrell told CTV News Edmonton on Saturday.
“But more needs to be done because this is not an isolated incident. This isn’t the case of a few bad apples. This is a systemic problem that is pervading not just the Edmonton police department, but a number of police forces across Canada.”
Farrell says they intend to file a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Galen McDougall