Calgary officer who assaulted handcuffed Black woman loses bid to have conviction overturned

A Calgary police officer who body slammed a handcuffed young Black woman has lost his second bid to have his assault conviction overturned.

Const. Alex Dunn, 36, was convicted of assault causing bodily harm in 2020 for the violent takedown of Dalia Kafi in 2017. Kafi died of an overdose in 2021.

Dunn was handed a one-month sentence — half to be served under house arrest, half under a curfew — by provincial court Judge Michelle Christopher.

In November 2021, the defence appealed to the Court of King's Bench, but a judge upheld his conviction. The judge ruled that even if the judge believed Dunn's testimony, all that was needed to convict the officer was the video of the assault.

On Thursday, Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Anne Kirker ruled Dunn cannot appeal his conviction to the province's top court.

Crown wants Dunn behind bars

The Crown has appealed Dunn's 30-day sentence, which will be argued in February.

In handing down the one-month sentence, the trial judge found Dunn's actions were not premeditated and said she did not find it necessary to separate him from society, calling the assault "an egregious mistake."

Dunn has been suspended without pay, according to the Calgary Police Service.

• Victim of Calgary officer's violent throw-down says she still has flashbacks

In December 2017, Kafi, who was 26 years old, was arrested by Dunn for breaching her court-imposed curfew.

Dunn took Kafi to the arrest processing unit (APU), where he tried to remove a scarf from her head to take a photo.

Calgary police officer on trial for assaulting handcuffed woman he threw to the ground

4 years ago

Duration 1:03

In this court evidence from Dec.13, 2017, Dalia Kafi was arrested by Const. Dunn for breaching her curfew. At the arrest processing unit, Kafi says she backed away from Dunn when he attempted to remove her headscarf. Dunn can then be seen throwing the handcuffed woman to the ground face first.

After a brief struggle, Dunn threw the handcuffed woman to the ground.

In a video that was an exhibit at trial, Kafi's head can be seen bouncing off the ground with a pool of blood quickly forming.

She appeared to be briefly unconscious. 

Kafi was Black, and while there was no evidence presented at trial that the assault was motivated by racism, both the Crown and judge noted that given the current climate, an officer's attack on a Black woman is harmful to the community.

• Calgary officer handed 1-month sentence for assaulting handcuffed Black woman who died of overdose this week

With the criminal court process complete, an internal CPS investigation will take place.

If convicted of Police Act offences, Dunn could face discipline ranging from a reprimand to dismissal.

In 2016, Dunn pleaded guilty to two charges of insubordination for breaching CPS policies related to accessing a civilian's information for personal reasons and the home storage of his service firearm. He was docked four days' pay.