Edmonton police officers testify at trial for constable accused of excessive force
Oli Olason is on trial for assault for his alleged conduct during a 2021 arrest
A jury is hearing from Edmonton police officers who were at the scene of a 2021 arrest that led to Const. Oli Olason being charged with assault.
Olason is accused of excessive force in the arrest of 43-year-old Lee Van Beaver after police confronted him in the Ritchie Market area just after midnight on March 23, 2021.
The Crown told the jury this week that Olason kicked, stomped and stood on Beaver's head, and the force he used wasn't reasonable. The officer has pleaded not guilty.
Beaver testified at the trial on Monday, saying that he displayed a can of bear spray to "ward off" whoever was in a dark vehicle that he said passed him several times, making him nervous that he was about to be jumped or robbed.
He said he didn't know it was actually an unmarked police vehicle, with Olason and his partner, Const. Dan Fedechko, inside. Both were members of the Edmonton Police Service tactical unit at the time.
The jury watched security footage of the arrest in an alley several times this week as witnesses, including Fedechko, gave evidence.
Fedechko testified that he and Olason stopped to arrest Beaver after seeing him point the bear spray toward their vehicle as they drove by.
Security footage shows the two officers coming toward Beaver in an alley next to Transcend Coffee on 76th Avenue, with red and blue police lights flashing behind them.
The jury heard that a third officer, Sgt. Jake Ludvig, is behind them in the video, holding an Arwen rubber bullet launcher. He testified that he and his EPS partner, Sgt. Dustin Adsett, were nearby when they heard a radio call about a man pointing a canister of bear spray, so they went to help.
Fedechko identified himself in court as the officer in the video approaching Beaver with his gun drawn. He testified that he took it out because of the potential danger of a weapon like bear spray, which can be used from a distance.
Fedechko said he thought Beaver would run, but Beaver followed his instructions to stop and get on the ground, moving to his hands and knees.
The jury heard that when the officer reached Beaver, he put his foot on his back and pushed him flat, then put his gun back in the holster. He told the court that as he crouched over Beaver and pulled one of his arms behind his back to handcuff him, Olason was still on his feet.
"I wasn't sure what he was doing. As I'm crouched down … in my periphery I can see Const. Olason's knees and hip area," Fedechko said.
"I was confused. I wasn't sure why he wasn't kneeling beside me helping me scoop this man's arm up to put them in handcuffs."
Fedechko told the court that he felt Beaver's weight shift, and he felt like he was losing his balance as he tried to retrieve his handcuffs. He testified that he thought Beaver was "struggling to not be arrested."
Jury hears from more officers
A fourth officer, Adsett, testified Wednesday that he rounded the corner into the alley with the arrest already underway.
"The awkward angle I found the police officers with the subject, this was not a controlled arrest," he said.
Adsett testified that he smelled bear spray in the air, the three officers were all yelling different directions at Beaver and it looked like his arm was underneath him.
"Const. Fedechko's perched or awkward squat is not how we would typically try and handcuff someone," Adsett said.
Crown prosecutor Michelle Kai asked him if there was "anything awkward" about Olason's position.
"Well, he had his foot on the subject's head rather than being down with his partner," Adsett said.
Kai asked if Adsett had ever seen an officer put their foot on someone's head in an arrest, and he said he hadn't.
"I believed at the time that Const. Olason was pepper sprayed," he said.
Adsett used a Taser on Beaver, saying he was trying to control the threat he believed he posed, and stop the other uses of force. Fedechko put Beaver's hands in handcuffs shortly after.
Defence brings up police reports
Defence lawyer Brian Beresh asked Fedechko about a report he wrote after the arrest where he classified Beaver as an "active resistor."
"Instead of co-operating, getting his hands behind his back, this person was reaching toward the area you knew there was bear spray. … He was told, I suggest, to put his arms behind his back, but he did not," Beresh said.
"No, he did not," Fedechko responded.
The officer said after the arrest, he realized there was bear spray on his pant leg, and he had a minor chemical burn.
He testified that he told another EPS officer at the time that he believed the bear spray canister discharged by accident while he was on top of Beaver, and that Beaver hadn't pulled it out.
Beresh suggested that he didn't know for sure how the bear spray got there, "whether it was accidental or intentional," and Fedechko agreed he didn't know.
The trial is scheduled to continue until Friday.
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