Family of man charged 'shocked' by video showing man's arrest by Regina police

The chief of the Regina Police Service says he is waiting for more information about a video that circulated on social media earlier this month, which appears to show an arrest that a Regina family says left a man with serious injuries.

The Dec. 13 video — which has since been taken down — appears to show Regina police officers chasing down a person, before pushing the man to the ground.

Two officers can be seen holding the man on the ground, with a third watching without taking any further action. A fourth officer then appears to join the fray, and immediately appears to strike the grounded person with his knee several times.

The family of Rocky Lonechild says he was the person shown in the video, and that he sustained serious injuries during the arrest.

The family said in a statement sent to media Thursday that Lonechild's ribs were broken and his lung collapsed after a puncture.

CBC has not been able to independently verify the injuries.

"I am still in shock" after seeing the video, reads the written statement from Lawrence Big Eagle, Lonechild's father.

"We thought we were watching the cops kill our son."

The statement says the man's family only found out about Lonechild's Dec. 13 arrest by reading news reports and seeing the video online.

The family is asking for an independent investigation of the incident, according to Big Eagle's statement.

Lonechild's mother, Deanna Lonechild, also provided a written statement, in which she said she could not bear to watch the videos of the arrest.

"I was scared for my son's life," her statement said. "He was lifeless."

Rocky Lonechild, 35, made a court appearance Thursday. He is facing charges of a being unlawfully at large and a breach of recognizance, break and enter, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest, according to court documents.

He'll be back in provincial court Friday morning. 

Home invasion complaint: police chief

Regina police Chief Evan Bray provided some details Wednesday about the events that led up to the arrest shown in the video.

He said officers were dispatched early in the morning of Dec. 13, with a report of men allegedly rushing into a home with firearms. 

Police eventually found and stopped a suspect vehicle and arrested four people inside. Another person fled.

Officers were told by those arrested that the man running away was high on meth, Bray said. The fifth person was later found and arrested. 

"I can't speak to what those officers were thinking or were going through during that arrest," Bray said. "There will be a complete investigation."

Bray said that no weapon was found during the arrest or its aftermath.

The Public Complaints Commission will investigate whether the officers acted appropriately. If they didn't, Bray said the force will work to correct that behaviour.

The Public Complaints Commission will speak with witnesses as well as the people involved and determine whether the actions were justified, Bray said.

Officers are trained in how to properly make an arrest, the police chief said.

"I don't think I can determine by watching that video … whether or not the approved or trained techniques were used," Bray said. 

"I wasn't there so I don't know," he said. "We'll have to get a complete understanding of what every officer's role was to determine why we needed three officers, for example, to make that arrest."

Originally, two videos were posted to a neighbourhood watch Facebook group. The video was from a home in the Washington Park neighbourhood and captured the moments before, during and after the arrest.

Carmel Crowchild — a member of the neighbourhood watch Facebook group — filed a complaint with police on Monday morning about the arrest.