Last week's arrest on Dunlop Street in downtown Barrie — which thrust the city into the national spotlight for what many say was excessive force — has also led to many questions on its handling, including what appeared to be a lack of masks and whether chest-mounted body cameras were utilized by officers.
The lack of masks comes at a time when the region's top public health official has already stated the Barrie area is "ground zero" for the highly contagious and more easily transmissible UK variant.
As for chest-mounted body cams, that pilot project ended the day before Thursday's high-profile arrest, says a local police official.
Thursday's incident, which involved a 20-year-old man and a Barrie police officer before more officers arrived at the scene, is now in the hands of the Ontario Provincial Police. City police called in the OPP's Professional Standards Unit to investigate the arrest and conduct of the officer involved.
The Barrie man, meanwhile, has been charged with causing a disturbance and assault with attempt to resist arrest.
After the video of the arrest went viral on social media, many people have asked what warranted such as violent response, as well as the lack of masks worn by some of the officers at the scene.
Barrie police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon told BarrieToday the service is aware that some of the officers were not immediately wearing masks when the arrived at the scene in front of Meridian Place.
The circumstances at the time required immediate assistance and officers did comply with mask safety as soon as possible, he said.
“The call that came across (the police radio) was for officer assistance being needed and they attended as quickly as possible,” Leon said Monday. “As can be seen in at least one video, the first officers on the scene tried to help with the situation as fast as they could, without having time to put their masks on.
"As soon as the situation presented itself to mask up, officers immediately did that," he added.
In one bystander video, the first responding officer who directly assisted with the arrest was not wearing his mask. When the young man was handcuffed, that officer does put his mask on.
The second officer who arrived on the scene was also not immediately wearing a mask, and while he did not come into contact with the man being arrested, the officer did put his mask on within seconds of his arrival.
Barrie police were also asked about officer body cameras, which may have provided a clearer picture of exactly what happened in the lead-up to the arrest.
At one point in one of the videos, the officer flips the young man over and strikes him in the back of the head. Another video shows the officer on top of the man with a taser to his shoulder. The officer asks, “Do you want this?” followed by “Put your hands behind your back right now or I’m lighting you up.” One of the officer is also shown smashing the man's face into the ground.
On Oct. 13, 2020, Barrie police joined a pilot project where chest-mounted recording devices were issued to 25 front-line, uniformed officers.
The following day, BarrieToday was told officers would activate the camera as soon as reasonably possible when arriving at a call for service, or at the decision to initiate any investigative contact.
That pilot project ended on Wednesday, Feb. 3, the day before the high-profile arrest. All devices were sent back to the manufacturer, as was the original plan.
A body-camera assessment and report will now be given to the Barrie Police Services Board for further evaluation.
Editor's note: The video contains graphic content and language which may be unsuitable for some readers.
