Lawsuit alleges 18-year-old seriously injured by Edmonton police officer's kick to head

Pacey Dumas gently pulled off the black knitted cap and revealed a noticeable caved-in section on the right side of his skull. 

Standing in front of his mother's townhouse in west Edmonton, he admitted that being there is traumatizing because of what happened last December.

"The feeling I have is a sad feeling," Dumas said.

He can't remember much about the night when he says an Edmonton Police Service (EPS) constable kicked him in the head. Dumas, now 19, suffered a serious brain injury and had to undergo emergency surgery. 

He's still not able to work. He said he usually wears a helmet whenever he leaves the house to prevent further brain injury while he waits to undergo surgery for the insertion of a metal plate to protect his skull. He also takes anti-anxiety medication. 

"I don't want to go outside the house or do anything," Dumas said. "I just want to stay by myself. I don't like talking to anyone about how I feel either." 

Last December, Dumas was living with his older brother Blair, now 20, and his mother, Irene, in a townhouse in west Edmonton. 

Edmonton police responded to a disturbance complaint on Dec. 9 around 4:13 a.m. It was reported that a group of people were fighting and one person was armed with a knife, according to a news release issued by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT).

"Before the police arrived, the group involved in the disturbance left the area and entered a nearby residence," the release said.

"A man matching the description of an individual involved in the fight emerged from the residence." 

ASIRT said there was a confrontation between the man and police and physical force was used, resulting in a "serious injury." 

A $725,000 civil lawsuit naming police has been filed with the Court of Queen's Bench on behalf of Dumas, his brother and mother. The statement of claim paints a much different picture of that night's chain of events. The allegations have not been proven in court.

The claim states that Irene Dumas allowed police to search her residence for weapons without a warrant and that no weapons were found.

The court document also alleges that Pacey and his brother were asked to step outside and both cooperated without incident. 

"Blair was immediately placed in handcuffs while Pacey followed instructions to lay face down on the sidewalk with both hands visible," the statement notes. "Neither offered any resistance whatsoever." 

The family's lawyer, Heather Steinke-Attia, said she obtained that information from an independent eyewitness who lives in the same complex. 

Blair Dumas said he couldn't believe his eyes when the officer kicked Pacey. 

"I was having an anxiety attack seeing that," Blair said. "I just felt like I couldn't do anything. As much as I wanted to help him, I was in handcuffs and they put me in the back of the vehicle." 

The statement of claim alleges that two police officers "neglected their duty to attend to Pacey's obvious medical distress", by grabbing him by his jacket and dragging his body along the concrete to a spot two houses down while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

"Such treatment was callous and inhumane and constitutes a continuation and aggravation of the assault and battery committed by Const. Ben Todd," the lawsuit states.

Pacey's mother heard sirens, but by the time she got outside, the ambulance had left and there was no sign of her son. The lawsuit alleges police refused to give her any information about what had happened or the hospital where her son would be treated. 

"The emotional trauma was further compounded when she located Pacey at the hospital emergency and was advised he may not survive his injuries," the court document states.

'It put us all in a very dark place'

Pacey had to undergo emergency surgery. A section of his skull was removed to relieve the pressure caused by his swelling brain.

"It didn't just affect me," Pacey said. "It affected my mom [and] my brother Blair because Blair was the one who saw everything. It put us all in a very dark place."

Pacey was hospitalized for nine days, including time in ICU. During his hospital stay, he contracted COVID-19. 

Pacey and his brother were not charged. Neither of them has a criminal record and that night in December 2020 was their first and only encounter with police.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) investigation into the incident is ongoing. No decision has been made on whether Todd will be criminally charged. 

"Long-standing resourcing issues have resulted in increasing delays that are not expected to improve significantly without additional resourcing," ASIRT executive director Sue Hughson told CBC News in an email. 

Pacey's lawyer is furious that Todd remains on duty.

In March, she asked the police chief to immediately suspend Todd. When that request was ignored, she asked again in June.

"If this is not a case calling for an officer's immediate suspension, I am hard pressed to imagine how egregious an officer's behaviour in uniform must get before the chief's office will be accountable to the public and take seriously its duty to keep the public safe from rogue members of the service," Steinke-Attia wrote to the chief.

An EPS spokesperson would not comment on the incident while the case was being investigated by ASIRT and would only say that Todd "remains in an operational position but is not currently in front line patrol." 

Steinke-Attia said she wants to see swift justice.

"It isn't fair that Pacey Dumas and his family are going through what they're going through," Steinke-Attia said. "He continues to live every day without a section of his skull present."