The family of a Kelowna, B.C. man who was kicked in the face by police says he has been charged with careless use of a firearm – and remains in custody.
Mounties pulled over Buddy Tavares' truck on Friday while responding to reports of shots fired at the Harvest Golf Club.
Officers found a shotgun in the vehicle – but Supt. Bill McKinnon has confirmed Tavares is on disability leave from his job at the club and had a permit to scare away geese with his gun.
The suspect's friend, Al Body, says Tavares was doing his duty the day he was arrested.
"I had just heard that Buddy had gone to do this, and the next thing you know the man is in jail," he told CTV News Sunday.
Video of Tavares' arrest shows him kneeling on the street when an officer 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.
"I was really quite taken aback by it," Body said. "Buddy was doing what the police were asking him to do, and then next thing you see is an officer kicking the man in the face. Pretty sad."
Another friend, Ken Albert, says the officer's actions could have seriously injured Tavares, who recently suffered a serious head injury in a motorcycle accident.
"He's been cut from his forehead to the back of his ear for brain surgery," Albert said. "That kick could actually kill him and put him in a coma. It was unbelievable."
Tavares' family says he's still being held in custody two days after his arrest. He's expected to appear in court in Kelowna on Monday.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
