Victim testifies after Edmonton police officers charged with assault

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

Max Bird said he was walking to a bus stop in the area of ​​66th Street and Whitemud Drive on Oct. 14, 2023, when he came across two cars on the side of the road.

“One vehicle had its lights on. One didn’t have them on. One had all its windows smashed and it looked like it had rolled over. I really thought it was an accident. I thought I was there to help,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Saturday.

Bird said there was no one in either vehicle, so he waited for two police officers to arrive.

“The police officers came up to me and pulled out their guns,” he said.

“They asked me to climb the fence. I obeyed. I didn’t protest.

“I thought I could explain myself, but they didn’t even give me the chance.”

He said he was kneeling on the ground when he was tasered by police.

“I was completely unable to do anything. I couldn’t do anything,” he recalls.

“I turned around. I was on my stomach, then they were both on my back and kept hitting me in the head.”

Max Bird spoke to CTV News Edmonton at his home on Sept. 21, 2024. (Galen McDougall/CTV News Edmonton)

Bird said at that point a third officer arrived on scene.

“He came and grabbed me by the arm and didn’t stop. I screamed, I begged, but no,” Bird said.

Bird was taken to hospital with multiple injuries. He said he has a broken arm, a dislocated forearm, torn muscles and cuts and bruises.

He said the officers accompanied him to the hospital.

“I asked for a glass of water. The guy grabbed me by the arm and handcuffed me to the bed. What they did was bad enough, but another 17 hours of that in the hospital.”

“They said I was unruly and loud. How can I have a meaningful conversation with someone who just broke my arm?”

Caught on camera

The incident on the road was filmed by EPS Air 1.

This video was obtained by CTV News Edmonton.

At the beginning of the video, a person says, “There’s a guy who jumped the chain-link fence and he’s coming towards… it looks like a black car. We’re going to go talk to him.”

At 1:26 in the video, two officers can be seen exiting a vehicle. They appear to be pointing guns or tasers as they walk toward a single person with their hands raised.

The person says: “He raises his hands. It looks like the members are ordering him to jump over the fence.”

The figure climbs over the fence and drops to its knees before falling to the ground as the person says, “Looks like a conducted energy weapon (or taser) is about to be deployed.”

It appears that the officers begin to strike the figure on the ground, which is moving, and the voiceover person says, “It looks like he’s resisting. The officers have him on the ground.”

A still image from video captured by the Edmonton Police Service’s Air 1 helicopter shows an incident involving officers and Max Bird. (Credit: Matthew Farrell)

Another vehicle arrives at the scene and a third officer gets out and joins the other officers.

A person is briefly heard saying, “Ouch! Ouch!”

Bird said knowing the incident had been recorded, he filed a complaint with the EPS professional standards department on October 17.

“They treated me like a human being. It’s just disgusting.”

“Initially they charged me with obstruction of justice, but that charge was dropped immediately, but only after I went to the prosecutor, got the video and presented it to him.”

On Friday, the EPS said two officers had been charged in connection with the case.

Constable David Castillo, a 10-year member of the EPS, was charged with assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.

Constable Ali Hamzeh, a member of the EPS for three years, was charged with assault causing bodily harm.

EPS says both officers are currently working in non-patrol and non-supervisory positions.

They added that no further comment would be provided as the matter is before the court.

Bird said the officer who broke his arm was not one of the officers charged.

“The two people who started it are the only ones being prosecuted. The one who caused the damage to my arm got away without being prosecuted,” he said.

“He came in and broke my arm. He dislocated it. He showed no remorse, he didn’t even say he was sorry.”

Bird believes his being Indigenous was a factor in how he was treated by officers.

“I really believe it,” he said.

“They didn’t come to discuss. They just reacted. They had their weapons drawn.”

Bird’s lawyer says the charges are a first step in the right direction.

“I think it’s an acknowledgement that something happened,” Matthew Farrell told CTV News Edmonton on Saturday.

“But more needs to be done because this is not an isolated incident. This is not a case of a few bad apples. This is a systemic problem that affects not only the Edmonton Police Service but a number of police services across Canada.”

Farrell says they intend to file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.

With files from Galen McDougall of CTV News Edmonton