Canadian officer found guilty of assault for slamming black woman to floor

A Canadian police officer has been found guilty of assault causing bodily harm after slamming a handcuffed black woman against a cement floor in a “judo-style” throw. Video footage of the assault, shared widely on social media, was seen as emblematic of systemic racism in Canada’s policing.

Constable Alex Dunn was convicted by a Calgary judge on Thursday for the incident in which he threw Dalia Kafi to the floor of a police station on 13 December 2017.

Kafi, now 29, was at the station for processing after breaching a court-ordered curfew. When she resisted Dunn’s attempts to remove her scarf, Dunn threw her to the ground. CCTV footage shows Kafi’s head bouncing off the cement floor.

Dunn’s lawyer described the assault as a “dynamic takedown”, but during the trial, one police officer called Dunn’s actions one of the “worst use[s] of force” he had ever seen.

According to her lawyers, Kafi suffered a broken nose and needed stitches in her lip following the assault.

Michelle Christopher, Alberta provincial court judge, rejected Dunn’s defence that Kafi had slipped from her handcuffs, calling his evidence at trial “evasive and self-serving”.

Kafi told CBC News she was happy about the verdict and that it was important that “no other female can go through what I’ve been through”.

“I’m somebody’s daughter and I’m also a human being,” she said.

Footage of the assault went viral on social media when the video was made public in October. One popular Twitter account shared the visceral clip, tweeting “tell me how you reform this”. The video racked up 13m views and the incident was seen by many as emblematic of the violence in policing that disproportionality impacts minority groups in Canada and the United States.

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The verdict marks the second high-profile assault conviction against a Canadian police officer. Last month, a Toronto police officer was sentenced to nine months for his role in the beating of Dafonte Miller, a black teen who lost his eye in the assault.

Dunn’s lawyer Cory Wilson said his client likely plans to appeal the verdict, telling reporters he and Dunn had “significant concerns” over how the judge determined the facts of the case.

Calgary police promised an internal investigation that could result in Dunn’s dismissal. “The criminal trial is not the only step in the accountability process for this incident,” the police said in a statement.

Dunn will be sentenced 17 December.