Witnesses back EPS officers accused of viciously beating drug suspect
Two men involved in 2010 arrest say they do not recall seeing accuser at the scene
Two witnesses gave testimony Thursday that backed up officers accused of savagely beating a suspected drug trafficker.
Former constable Derek Huff has accused constables Jack Redlick, Jason Kemp and Craig Offin of viciously assaulting Kazimierz Kozina during a "buy and bust" operation in February 2010.
But two of the men involved in that arrest told a disciplinary hearing they do not recall seeing Huff at the scene.
Retired Const. Philip Leeman said he had gone undercover to buy $100 worth of crack cocaine from an alleged dealer he knew as "Taz."
Leeman said while conversation before a buy is often used to determine credibility, Kozina seemed focused on a bust at his home a month earlier, "mocking" police for finding just 10 grams of his stash.
"His attitude was that he had a level of frustration with the police," said Leeman.
After the buy, Leeman said he gave the signal and Redlick and Kemp arrived, and said, "You're under arrest. Get out of the car."
He said Kozina resisted getting out of the car and once he did the struggle continued. He said Kemp continued to speak in a "loud, calm tone," with "a level of disbelief that the struggle was continuing this long."
Leeman said before the bust, he never heard the three constables say, "This is our arrest," or anything to that effect.
Similarly, Const. Mike Bates testified at Thursday's hearing that police identified themselves at the "top of their lungs."
He said they continued to give directives such as "stop resisting" while Kozina was "really resisting the arrest."
"It appeared to me Kemp got hit" by Kozina, said Bates.
Presenting officer Derek Cranna questioned how well Bates could see the struggle from 20 feet away, near midnight.
Asked whether he actually saw Kozina strike Kemp, Bates replied: "I can't say 100 per cent."
Redlick and Kemp are both charged with excessive use of force. The same charge is being withdrawn against Offin, who resigned from the force this week.
All three accused are expected to testify next week.