Saskatoon officer threatened to out gay man to his family after he was uncooperative during arrest

A Saskatoon police officer trying to subdue a drunk and agitated young man in detention taunted him by threatening to reveal to his family that he is gay.

"The comment was something like, 'OK, fine, let's call your Mom,' said prosecutor Ainsley Furlonger.

"I think that probably came more out of exasperation, but it doesn't really matter." 

The taunt was captured on video surveillance. Furlonger said an officer's statement about the incident made it clear they knew that the man was afraid of being outed to his family.

The confrontation and taunt so traumatized the young man that he defecated himself, Furlonger said.

"The comment on the video was one of the things that stuck out."

CBC is not naming the man because he has chosen to not publicly reveal that he is gay.

The man was eventually charged with assault after spitting on a police officer during the melee, which involved at least six officers. He would later plead guilty to the charge.

The full narrative of what happened at a local hotel and then the police station emerged June 17 at his sentencing hearing.

It began at the Ramada Hotel just before 4 a.m. CST on Oct. 27. Police were called there by a woman complaining there was an intoxicated man in her room that she did not know, and that he was fighting with people.

Furlonger said that it only became clear later that the woman who called police from the hotel had walked in on her friend having consensual same-sex relations with the man, "and she freaked out."

"The only word to describe it is homophobic," she said.

Police arrived and took the man into the hallway. He was shirtless and shoeless and, although quite drunk, was described as initially quite co-operative. At that point, court heard, police simply planned to drive the young man home.

That all changed when the man revealed that he'd been engaging in oral sex with another man, and that he was frightened that information may be revealed to his parents.

Police said they were concerned about the man getting home safely so they arrested him for public intoxication.

That is when he became belligerent, combative and verbally abusive, police said. This continued to escalate to the point that he headbutted an officer and spit in another officer's eye.

The man was given a six-month conditional discharge in provincial court after Judge Doug Agnew accepted a joint sentencing submission.

Scott Spencer, the man's lawyer, said police need to re-examine how they approach such calls.

"It is time for all police services to take a long look in the mirror," Spencer said.

"The police have to demonstrate that they respect every individual that they deal with when they're wearing their uniform."

Spencer said the entire incident could have been avoided had police offered to drive the man home, with assurances that he would be dropped off on his driveway and that they would not interact with his parents.

"He just needed a ride home," he said.

Spencer said the young man fully accepts his role in escalating the situation. 

"My client took the opportunity to use this unpleasant situation as an opportunity to address his health issues, secure employment, and to generally improve his life," he said.