Edmonton police officer reprimanded for using force on handcuffed man in 2019 arrest
Const. Dylan Awid admitted to unlawful exercise of authority nearly 6 years after arrest
An Edmonton police officer has been reprimanded nearly six years after an arrest where he shoved a handcuffed man's head into a brick wall.
According to a disciplinary decision released Wednesday, the officer admitted to unlawful exercise of authority in the incident on June 11, 2019. He was among several officers who pursued a man speeding in a stolen truck into a downtown apartment parking lot.
Frad Kamins, a retired RCMP chief superintendent who presided over the hearing, accepted a joint submission for a formal reprimand as the penalty.
Kamins said it's "on the lighter side" of penalties he might impose, but he accepted the agreement for "a restorative approach versus the usual suspension without pay penalty."
The decision identifies the officer only by anonymized initials, but he was publicly named as Const. Dylan Awid in 2021, when the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team charged him with assault in the wake of CBC reporting on video footage of the arrest.
The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service stayed the charge about a month after it was laid, saying in a statement at the time that after a review, it was determined the case did not meet the standard for prosecution.
According to Kamins's discipline decision, "The officer admitted the situation and the intensity got the better of his emotions.
"While some degree of force was necessary to subdue the driver of the stolen vehicle, the force used by Constable [Awid] was not. It was a case of poor judgment and a spontaneous reaction."
Kyle Parkhurst, the man who was arrested, filed a lawsuit in 2022 against Edmonton Police Service and the individual officers involved.
In his statement of claim, he says one EPS officer shouted "You're going to die!" and another called him a "maggot." He says he "received no medical attention despite being visibly injured" once he was in the back of an EPS car.
The allegations have not been proven in court. All parties have filed statements of defence denying the allegations against them.
Parkhurst initially also sued Alberta Health Services and the province, alleging he didn't get proper medical attention while he was in custody at the Edmonton Remand Centre and Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre. Court documents show that action was discontinued this year.
In a statement issued by his lawyer, Chris Wiebe, Parkhurst said Thursday that he wasn't given an opportunity to participate in the EPS disciplinary proceedings, and he continues to fear and distrust police because of what he experienced.
"Almost six years is a long wait just for minimum consequence," he said.
Kamins's decision characterizes the incident as a case of "serious misconduct," but says the officer has taken responsibility, shown remorse and apologized for his actions.
Parkhurst said he hasn't received an apology.
"It's like I matter less to them because I struggle with using drugs and I have a criminal record," he said.
Officer admitted 'screw-up' in EPS conduct investigation
Security video from the arrest shows two police vehicles box in the truck, with Parkhurst behind the wheel, after it rams both police cars.
Once Parkhurst is outside the vehicle, police get him to the ground to arrest him.
According to an agreed statement of facts from Awid's EPS discipline proceedings, video from an EPS helicopter, as well as footage recorded by a person in a nearby building, shows Awid jump from the cab of the truck onto Parkhurst's leg, then kick him in the torso three times.
A different officer involved in the arrest also used a Taser on Parkhurst while he was on the ground, according to the statement of defence filed by EPS in Parkhurst's civil case.
Parkhurst is then handcuffed and pulled to his feet, and video shows Awid shove his head into a wall. After walking him to a police vehicle, still in handcuffs, Awid shoves him again into the side of the car.
The officer acknowledged to an EPS Professional Standards Branch investigator that the second shove against the car wasn't necessary, the agreed facts say. Awid was forthcoming with the investigator about the incident, according to the discipline decision, saying, "It was a screw-up and you own it."
Parkhurst pleaded guilty to several criminal charges about six months after he was arrested, admitting that during a drug-fuelled crime spree, he stole several vehicles and drove dangerously through Edmonton, evading police and at one point rear-ending another car with enough force that the female driver lost consciousness.
His defence lawyer at the time initially told the court he'd seek to have all the charges from the day of Parkhurst's arrest stayed, claiming a breach of his client's Charter rights.
The Crown prosecutor told the court that "police did use unnecessary force once [Parkhurst] was already in custody," and the Crown took that into account in the joint-sentencing submission for three and a half years in prison.
Kamins wrote in his decision that Awid had been on the force less than two years at the time of the arrest.
"He got caught up in the 'heat of the moment' though, admittedly, that is usually the case with such matters."
The disciplinary proceedings also credited Awid for subsequent volunteer work with Santas Anonymous and a food bank initiative.
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