Apprehending Goons

"The cops aren't punching bags. Every call we go to is a gun call because every cop has a gun. This was in the ByWard Market. That's a hot spot, and here you have a cop getting sucker-punched in the face. At that point, you just started a fight with the police. And the police will win the fight every single time."
Senior Ottawa Police officer

It isn't the least bit unusual for violence to erupt at the various night spots at the ByWard Market at night. A video was posted online a few days ago, when Ottawa police responded to a report of a client at a bar being violently out of control. It was a one-minute clip that showed only a police officer kneeling over a man on the ground and repeatedly hitting him in the head.

Constable Craig Fairbairn was identified as the police officer. The short action clip has generated quite a bit of public response. Most of it outraged. Demanding that an enquiry take place. That police demonstrating that kind of violence to be unacceptable. They are, after all, engaged professionally to keep the peace, not disrupt it.

The bar patron had been ushered out of the establishment by bouncers. The ferociously unruly man grabbed a metal pole and began swinging it at the bouncers. When the officers showed up, a second man became involved and punched Const. Fairbairn, a slightly-built man who has been four years on the force, and highly regarded for the quality of his police work.

When the video starts it shows the police officer falling to the ground, pulling that second man along with him. Once the man was on the ground, other police officers attempted to handcuff him, but he just kept violently swinging his arms and hands. Which was when Const. Fairbairn whom the man had attacked violently to begin with, used justified use of force, punching him about ten times in succession.

A screengrab of a video showing apparent excessive use of force by police in arresting a suspect in the ByWard Market.

None of the officers; three were present; drew a Taser, or a service pistol. "Fairbairn chose a non-lethal force and used his right first to neutralize a potentially lethal threat", said the senior officer. "The police had someone who was sucker-punching a cop and they had to exercise whatever force necessary and accepted. At that point, the suspect is a lethal threat in the crowded market, and this is on top of another guy swinging a metal pole", explained the senior officer.

In 2012 Const.Fairbairn, already having earned a reputation among his seniors for his work on the street, was formally recognized at a Police Services Board meeting. He was awarded a senior officer's commendation, given to personnel demonstrating dedication and extreme diligence. Although Const. Fairbairn's actions on this occasion are undergoing an internal review, he is not thought of as having responded inappropriately to the situation at hand.

Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau forwarded a force-wide email emphasizing his confidence in the rank-and-file, after the occurrence and public reaction to the posted video. The province's Special Investigations Unit will not undertake a review of the incident because the suspect suffered minor injuries. They undertake probes with cases resulting in serious injuries or death.

Balkaran Bajwa, 21, of Ottawa, identified as the man seen in the YouTube arrest video has been charged with causing a disturbance, assaulting a peace officer, uttering threats and resisting arrest. The individual who was the original cause of the police alert, Gohar Ali also of Ottawa and 21 years of age, has been charged with causing a disturbance, assault with a weapon and obstructing a peace officer.

It seems the peaceful, law-abiding citizens of the City of Ottawa are very well served indeed by the Ottawa Police Force.