Officer accused of excessive force testifies he helped subdue suspect fearing he might be armed

All three Calgary police officers who are accused of using excessive force during an arrest that left a man with broken ribs and a collapsed lung have now testified in their own defence and each said Clayton Prince was resisting.

Const. Mike Sandalack told provincial court JudgeMargaret Keelaghan that he joined the arrest ofPrince because he believed fellow officers were in danger and that the suspect might be armed.

• Calgary officer on trial for assault testifies he was in 'fight of my life' during violent arrest

Sandalack, JamesOthen and KevinHumfrey are on trial for assault causing bodily harm. Othen and Humfrey are also charged withmischiefrelated to false statements the two officers are alleged to have made after the incident. Othen faces an additional charge ofassault with a weapon for allegedly digging a key into Prince's neck.

The officers were responding to the scenejust offMacleodTrial onJuly 30, 2016, after Prince ran fromConst. Derrick Matkarduring a traffic stop.

When he arrived, Sandalack said he saw afellow officer, Const. Chris Harris, with his service weapon drawn and pointed at Prince.

"My immediate concern was that Const. Harris had viewed a weapon on Mr. Prince," Sandalack testified. "It's odd a police officer would point a firearm at someone who was solely running away."

Video of Calgary police charged with assault

7 years ago

Duration 0:07

Video entered as evidence at the trial of three Calgary police officers accused of assault after a traffic stop.

Sandalack wanted to get Prince who was "actively kicking his legs, somewhat thrashing about"in handcuffs as quickly as possible, he said.

The final officer to testify said he delivered one knee strike because Prince was resisting arrest.

In Harris's testimony, he saidthe officers made"no meaningful attempts" to put the suspect in handcuffs, continuing the beatingwith their fists and knees instead.

Over the past two days, Othen and Humfrey also testified in their own defence. They admitted their recollections of the arrest differ from a short video that was captured by a police cruiser's dash cam before it was shut off.

An officer who is not facing charges testified earlier in the trial that he accidentally switched off the recording.

The video shows Prince on the ground with his hands on his head before Othen jumps on the then-suspect's back with his knees and begins punching.

Othen saidhe believed he was in the fight of his life at the time and that his stress and anxiety levels were "at an all-time high." He testified he "didn't do anything excessive that day."

Prosecutor Jim Stewart suggested the officers used "tremendous force"during the arrest and then "cooked up a story" about Prince resisting them.

• Video released in assault trial of Calgary police officers involved in 'out of control' arrest

Other officers have testified the three accused constables delivered "extremely excessive force" to Prince during the arrest.

One officer saidOthenandSandalack's "extremely excessive" force involved knee strikes. Another described the arrest as"violent" and "out of control."

Defence lawyers Alain Hepner, Paul Brunnen andDavid Butcher are representing the three officers. They are expected to call a psychologist on Wednesday who is an expert on false memories.

Othen and Humfrey are suspended without pay while Sandalack is on administrative duties.