A B.C. man who was filmed getting kicked in the head by a Mountie in Kelowna earlier this year is suing the officers involved, the City of Kelowna and the province's solicitor general for damages.
Buddy Tavares' truck was pulled over on Jan. 7 by officers responding to a 911 call of shots fired. YouTube footage shows Tavares kneeling next to the vehicle when a Mountie kicks him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
A civil suit filed by Tavares' lawyer claims the 51-year-old was wrongfully arrested by officers whose actions were "arbitrary, unconstitutional, malicious, high-handed, reprehensible and/or oppressive."
The suit claims Tavares, who had suffered a brain injury prior to the arrest, suffered mental anguish, loss of sleep, dizziness, nausea and another mild traumatic brain injury on top of his apparent facial injuries.
Video of the arrest shows an officer rolling Tavares over, revealing a pool of blood beneath his face.
Const. Geoff Mantler has been charged with two counts of assault causing bodily harm in that arrest and another dating back to August 2010. He is due to appear in court in Kelowna on Tuesday.
Mantler is a defendant in the suit, as is an unnamed female RCMP officer who is accused of failing to intervene when the highly-publicized kick was administered.
Tavares is also accusing the City of Kelowna and B.C. Solicitor General of negligence, claiming they are responsible for hiring unsuitable RCMP officers and failing to adequately train them.
He is seeking lost income and special, punitive and aggravated damages.
