Regina man alleges RCMP used excessive force in arrest
Warning: This story contains graphic language and details some readers may find disturbing.
A Regina man is accusing RCMP in Punnichy of using excessive force during an arrest last week.
Braxtin Asapace, 20, has numerous bruises and cuts on his face and body after the encounter.
"I was scared, I was really scared for my life, I didn’t want to get it taken away," he told CTV News. "It just made me feel helpless, hopeless, very traumatizing."
According to Asapace, he was drinking with his mom and stepdad at their home on Kawacatoose First Nation on Wednesday night. As they became more intoxicated, Twilla Asapace said she called the police on her son to avoid the situation escalating.
RCMP said they were told two individuals in the home were assaulted by Braxtin.
"He suffers from bipolar depression, so I didn’t want things to escalate between us, so I called the RCMP to come and get him, just to put him in the drunk tank for the night," she said.
Braxtin says he was in a bedroom when RCMP arrived at the home. He claims they put him in handcuffs and alleges that’s when things started to get rough.
"All of a sudden, he started using his right arm to elbow me like this in the head and he said, 'Shut the f--k up', and really I was in disbelief, I couldn’t believe that was happening to me," Asapace said.
As he was being taken outside, Braxtin claims he was pushed down the front stairs of the house and landed on his face.
"I was trying to get up when I was handcuffed, I was using my legs and when I was looking back, all I seen was this black boot come and kick me right in my face," he said.
As he was being put in the back of the police cruiser, Asapace said he asked the officer if he was proud of what he’s doing.
"He said, 'F--k ya, damn rights,'" Asapace alleges. "I was like, 'Oh, I hope you got that camera recording.'"
Asapace said he was taken to the RCMP detachment where he spent the night in a holding cell and was released the next morning without charges.
The family filed a complaint with RCMP the next day and the Saskatchewan RCMP Criminal Operations has initiated an investigation into the incident.
In a statement to CTV News, the RCMP said, "We take complaints of this nature seriously, which is why the RCMP has also requested an independent observer from the Ministry of Corrections and Policing."
Asapace says he needed stitches on his lip and has received a CT scan to check for bleeding in his brain. He said the incident will stick with him long after the injuries heal.
"It changed my whole mindset about everything, it’s really bringing me down," he said. "The justice system, I don’t know why they treat us people like this, especially when we’re good people and I would cause no harm to no one.
"It really made me scared to call the cops, it really did… very traumatizing."
Twilla Asapace said she moved to the community in April and had no issues with RCMP until this night.
The Asapaces have reached out to a lawyer and are working on filing a complaint against the officers, who they allege wouldn’t provide their names or badge numbers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Israel gave U.S. last-minute warning about drone attack on Iran, Italian foreign minister says at G7
The United States told the Group of Seven foreign ministers on Friday that it received 'last minute' information from Israel about a drone action in Iran, but didn't participate in the apparent attack, officials said.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
BREAKING Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
Ottawa to force banks to call carbon rebate a carbon rebate in direct deposits
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.