Calgary police chief blasted over video response to violent arrest by Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart

Police waited far too long to respond to a viral video of a violent arrest outside a 17th Ave. S.W., bar, says a member of the Calgary Police Commission.

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart, who has sat on the city's police commission for the last nine years, made the knock Wednesday against police Chief Roger Chaffin.

"In this digital age of media, when things like this go viral in a really short period of time ...even though the chief was out of town when this happened, you actually need people to respond in a very, very timely manner," she said.

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"And I think probably the only reason the chief did respond after 72 hours ...was because the premier and our mayor spoke out on it."

The delay, saidChaffin, was to ensure his message was clear and accurate.

"Part of the reason why we had somewhat of a delay in our response was really making sure we had the entire facts," he said.

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"One thing we've seen over the years when videos are released about interactions, they often will give an accurate depiction of a window in time but we're trying to make sure we have the whole story from beginning to end so we're able to be objective and accurate with our assessments of where there are risks and where there are things we need to do better or things we can change."

Violent arrest by Calgary police caught on video

8 years ago

Duration 0:44

The 21-second video posted to Instagram on Friday shows an officer throwing a man to the ground outside 1410 World Bierhaus Restaurant and Lounge before punching him at least twice while two other officers help restrain him.

Police released a statement Saturday afternoon after a 21-second video was posted to social media Friday night showing a Calgary police officer throwing a man to the ground outside 1410 World Bierhaus Restaurant and Lounge. The officer then punches the man in the head at least twice while two other officers help restrain him.

"It's caused a lot of questions and certainly a lot of concern that has been expressed," said Colley-Urquhart.

"And I think they're legitimate concerns that have been raised that people want answers to."

The release on Saturday said the video doesn't tell the whole story asthe man was involved in a road rage incident and refused to identify himself to officers before trying to leave. It said he was ticketed for stunting before being released and there would be no further comment.

Then on Monday, after Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Premier Rachel Notley were asked about the incident, Chaffin released a statement saying the Alberta Serious incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been asked to investigate.

Politicians speaking out wasn't the catalyst for his comments, said Chaffin.

"We would have responded anyway on this one because of its nature," he said.

"We're a public body who gets its legitimacy from the public so when politicians speak up and they're part of the discussion, it does sort of heighten that responsibility to get out there and address issues such as this."

Social media effect

Social media is changing the way police are both viewed by and interact with the public, the chief said.

"It's changing the whole fabric of society right now," said Chaffin.

"The speed to which information can be moved around, the speed to which people's perception of information can be shared and moved around the world, it really is changing the way we have to talk. One of the discussions we had as well is what we can do to get a more timely response out."

Once the investigation is complete, Chaffin said he'll likely have more to say.

"With the value of hindsight, I would rather have gotten an earlier message out, both for the community and for the organization so they had a sense of what was going on and how we were going to handle it," he said.

"There will be an opportunity to speak to these things as we have done continually in our history."