A man living in Victoria who has extremely limited mobility says he was viciously and unnecessarily tackled by four hospital security guards after he criticized the facility’s no-smoking policy.

Philippe Albert, who uses a walker and suffers acute back pain, was being treated at Royal Jubilee Hospital on March 16, 2012, after a fall in his home, when the incident occurred.

“I was dying for a cigarette, I was in pain. I made a comment about smoking, that’s all,” Albert said.

Karl Hauer, a lawyer representing the 56-year-old, said security was initially called after Albert had a dispute over what television station was being watched in a common room. The situation escalated after Albert claims he accidentally put his walker down onto a male security guard’s foot. That’s when he says four other security guards came in.

Security footage obtained through an Access to Information request and given to CTV Vancouver Island by Albert appears to show four male security guards taking him to the ground.

“Suddenly you’ve got someone who first of all kicks you in the back of the knee, you suddenly collapse, and then you’ve got someone else who’s going to hold you by the head,” he said.

Albert said one officer “ripped the walker out of his hands” before putting his face down on the ground.

He said he was shackled in restraints before finally being “booted in the ribs” and chest.

Afterwards, protection staff restrained Albert and put him on a stretcher.

Albert said he suffered a bloody nose in the takedown, something the Vancouver Island Health Authority says happened when his nose hit the walker “and caused a small laceration.”

He was assessed by nursing staff, who determined there were “no obvious signs of continued bleeding”

He denies being aggressive or physical to the guards before the incident, but those claims were disputed by VIHA officials.

“Protection services documentation indicates that, at this point, your agitation seemed to escalate and you became aggressive… It is documented that you attempted to strike one of the PSOs with your walker,” states a letter from VIHA to Albert, dated Sept. 13, 2013. It also claims Albert “continued to be verbally aggressive towards staff and the physicians” throughout the rest of the encounter.

“You made the statement ‘bang bang, you and your kids’ towards a member of the PSO staff.”

In the letter, Director of Protection Services James Hanson defended the force used to subdue Albert, saying action had to be taken to “maintain safety.”

“PSO staff utilized advanced security training (AST) techniques to restrain you for your safety, and the safety of staff and other patients.”

Albert is seeking general damages.

“You don’t treat handicapped people this way, especially when I made one comment about the non-smoking rule,” he said.

In response to the video’s release, VIHA released a statement saying it takes patient safety extremely seriously.

“We recognize that people who are in hospital are often in very stressful circumstances. Our staff are trained in de-escalation techniques, and restraint is only used as a last resort when all attempts to de-escalate a situation are unsuccessful. Our protection services officers are well-trained to do their jobs in accordance with provincial standards,” it reads.

VIHA says the video requires close scrutiny and “does not provide a complete picture of the relevant surrounding events.”