Officers entered former Behchoko chief’s home in pursuit of suspected impaired driver: RCMP

‘They pushed me back[wards] and then threw me against my arm chair and couch,’ says Leon Lafferty.

APTN News: Police officers did not need a warrant to enter Leon Lafferty’s Behchoko residence on Oct. 6, based on a statement from RCMP information officer Const. Josh Seaward.

Lafferty, a former Behchoko chief, claims two officers arrived at his door around 9 p.m. and forcibly entered his home despite his requests to see a warrant.

According to Seaward, the officers were pursuing a suspected impaired driver who was also believed to have assaulted somebody. Under Canadian law, that would mean they did not require a warrant to enter the premises.

“On Oct. 6, Behchoko RCMP responded to a report of an impaired driver that was alleged to have assaulted someone,” Seaward said in an emailed statement to NNSL Media. “Uniformed officers located the vehicle, catching it as it stopped at a residence.

“The driver fled from police into the residence. Officers pursued the driver into the residence where they were able to take him into custody. He was transported to the detachment and provided breath samples in excess of the prescribed blood alcohol limit.”

Lafferty alleges that, once the officers had entered his home, they pushed him to the ground with enough force that he had to visit a nurse for several injuries the morning after the incident.

“They pushed me back[wards] and then threw me against my armchair and couch, and I fell onto the stool on on the floor and hurt my shoulder, neck, back and knee,” he said.

Lafferty claims he attempted to film the incident on his phone, but said one of the officers took his phone and threw it on the ground, breaking the screen and making the device difficult to charge.

Seaward was made aware of the specifics of Lafferty’s allegations and was asked to confirm or deny their veracity, but he did not acknowledge the alleged assault or property damage in his statement on the RCMP’s behalf.

Lafferty contends the officers also pushed his wife when she asked why he was on the floor.

In addition, he claims that the officers were overly physical in the arrest of their suspect — his grandson. He alleges that one of the officers “pushed and kicked” his grandson when he “wouldn’t get into the vehicle fast enough” because he was handcuffed.

Lafferty has contacted the RCMP about the incident but said he was only given a phone number for “an independent body.”

“I went to see the senior officer, but no help,” he said on Oct. 9. “He defended all their actions. He told me to go the independent commission. I downloaded the forms [to make a complaint] and filled it out, but I found out it goes back to the RCMP to investigate. Doesn’t look promising.”

Story by Tom Taylor, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter