The RCMP officer who was caught on tape allegedly using excessive force while arresting a Kelowna, B.C. man has been suspended from duty with pay.
Const. Geoff Mantler was caught on video kicking 51-year-old Buddy Tavares in the face on Jan. 7.
Video of Tavares' arrest shows him kneeling on the street when Mantler allegedly winds up and kicks him. When an officer rolls him over, his face is covered in blood and there appears to be a pool of blood where he was lying.
The video has created a buzz in social media and prompted the creation of a Facebook page asking that Mantler be fired and charged with assault. By Monday afternoon the page had around 400 fans.
Abbotsford police will be investigating the incident to determine whether Mantler will be criminally charged.
Mounties had pulled over Tavares in response to a 911 call regarding a domestic violence incident and arrested him after finding a shotgun in his vehicle.
But Tavares' estranged wife, Trudi Tavares, denies there was any domestic disturbance involving her husband and a gun.
"As far as I'm concerned, if Buddy had a gun at the golf course he was there to scare away the geese as he has always done," she said.
Al Body, Buddy's friend, told CTV News that he was on disability leave from his job at the Harvest Golf Club, where he was employed to scare off geese with a shotgun.
However, Const. Steve Holmes said in a release that Tavares did not have permission to be on the grounds of the golf course and there were no permits to use a firearm or noisemaker to scare geese.
Holmes told ctvbc.ca that Tavares, who has no criminal record, appeared in court Monday on charges of careless use of a firearm.
Tavares family is now worried that the blow he suffered to his head may have affected his recovery from a previous head injury.
"He did get sick Saturday night and was throwing up -- so possibly a concussion," said Angela Behiels, Buddy's sister. "They did take him back for more tests. I understand his teeth are broken."
Holmes said that he is shocked and disappointed by the video but he trusts in the investigation process.
