A Winnipeg man who was detained and allegedly intimidated by police at the scene of a Taser incident in East Kildonan is threatening to lodge a formal complaint unless he receives an apology and the swift return of his camera's memory card.
VIDEO: Police explain detention of Taser witness
Paul St. Laurent says he doesn’t want to have to lodge a formal complaint against police.
Paul St. Laurent, 38, said he was handcuffed and placed in the back of a cruiser car after he refused an officer's demands to stop taking photos of police subduing a suspect with a Taser on Keenleyside Street shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Police were in the area investigating a sighting of a suspected stolen Dodge minivan when, they said, two men got into it and they moved in to arrest them.
Both suspects ran from the scene, but police caught up with one nearby and used a Taser on him. They later Tasered the other man in the basement of a nearby home.
Police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said officers reported the first suspect made a motion to grab something from his belt, indicating he might be armed. "Safety was a serious concern."
St. Laurent said he had arrived on the scene by bicycle and although initially officers said nothing about him photographing what was happening, one officer told him to stop at some point, and said he had taken enough photos.
In hindsight, St. Laurent said he probably should have listened, but stubbornness got the best of him. "I got greedy, took some more and, by that time, the suspect was taken away," he said Wednesday. Police are then said to have focused their attention on St. Laurent.
He said he was handcuffed, placed in a cruiser car and detained for 15 to 20 minutes after being told he was under arrest for "intimidating an officer."
The officer also confiscated his camera, St. Laurent said, adding he wasn't formally read his rights. Police didn't confirm nor deny this.
St. Laurent claims the officer was acting like a "bar bouncer" and threatened to have the photographer detained at the remand centre, where he was told he "wouldn't fare too well."
After being released, St. Laurent said, the camera was returned to him without the memory card containing about 12 photos of the incident. Police said Wednesday all of his property was returned.
St. Laurent said he's been in touch with the professional standards unit to voice his concerns about police conduct, but hopes he won't have to lodge a complaint with the Law Enforcement Review Agency.
"Give me back my (memory card), give me a bit of an apology and we'll just forget about it," St. Laurent said. He maintains that other than being a bit of a "pest," he wasn't disruptive and did nothing wrong by taking all the photos he could. Michalyshen said officers at the scene were attempting to make an arrest and do their jobs. Michalyshen said St. Laurent was causing a disturbance and making it more difficult for police to investigate the scene.
"He was breaching an area that the officers did not want him to cross -- he kept getting in the officers' way and ultimately he was detained," Michalyshen said, adding it was for St. Laurent's safety and the safety of the 25 to 30 other people near the scene.
"If he's continuously going to breach an area where police repeatedly ask him not to (detention) seems like a safe alternative to me," Michalyshen said. He added police took time to explain to St. Laurent why they did what they did.
No charges are pending against St. Laurent.
Michalyshen said the fact pictures were being taken was not the issue, as other bystanders and media were also doing so at Tuesday's scene, but in a safe and unobstructive way.
Kyle McKenzie, 21, has been charged with possession of goods obtained by crime, resisting a peace officer and breach of probation in connection to the stolen-vehicle incident.
Louis Flett, 27, was also charged with possessing goods obtained by crime. Both are being held in custody.
james.turner@freepress.mb.ca
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