Decade-old lawsuit against Edmonton police delayed again after EPS lawyer appointed a judge

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The trial of a 13-year-old lawsuit against the Edmonton Police Service has been delayed yet again after the service’s lead lawyer was appointed a judge.

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Jason Paul, an Edmonton real estate agent and former Whyte Avenue bar owner, was assaulted by a security guard at the now-defunct Iron Horse Eatery and Watering Hole on Gateway Boulevard in 2006. In a lawsuit initially filed in 2008, Paul claims two Edmonton police officers directly joined in the assault and that others roughed him up during a wrongful arrest.

Paul suffered a broken nose, a chipped tooth and injuries to his head and arms during the ordeal, his $1.35-million statement of claim alleges.

A three-week trial of the lawsuit began in April but was adjourned on the third day after the judge fell ill. It was adjourned yet again Monday after Lorena Harris, a Dentons lawyer acting for the police service, was appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench.

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EPS’s legal team was granted additional time for a new lawyer to be appointed and familiarize themselves with the case. The trial resumes this fall.

Paul’s statement of claim names six defendants, including officer Wilson Quan, four unidentified EPS officers and then-police chief Michael Boyd. Statements of claim contain allegations that have not been proven in court.

Paul was 26 at the time of the arrest. He was part owner of the Monkey Island bar and also ran a pub crawl company.

He was a customer at the Iron Horse on June 24, 2006, when he was assaulted by security guard Jason Szymanski. Paul alleges he was subsequently “swarmed” and assaulted by other employees, portions of which were caught on surveillance video. Szymanski was convicted of assault and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine on Dec 9, 2009, court records show.

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Paul claims Quan and an unidentified female officer “joined in” the assault, slamming him to the floor while holding his arms, causing him to chip a tooth. They then helped drag him to a patio area, where they pulled on his arms while various bar employees stepped on him, the claim alleges.

Paul claims the officers restrained him on the ground, handcuffed him and held him down with a knee on his neck. Quan then allegedly struck him in the face with a baton, breaking his nose. They and other officers also allowed Szymanski to “grind” Paul’s his head into the pavement using his boot, the claim states.

Paul alleges Quan and Szymanski were friends at the time of the assault.

Paul further claims that other officers drove recklessly while transporting him in a prisoner van, causing him to hit his head. He also accuses Quan of conducting an improper investigation and authoring reports that were “deliberately misleading.”

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The lawsuit seek a total of $1.35 million from the police, including punitive damages. Charges of assault, resisting arrest and uttering threats against Paul were dropped in 2007.

In a statement of defence filed in 2010, Quan denies any wrongdoing and claims he heard Paul threaten an employee. He says any force used was within his powers as a police officer.

Quan says if Paul did suffer any injuries or losses, they were the result of the actions of the Iron Horse employees.

Justice Larry Ackerl is hearing a second, $400,000 lawsuit from Paul simultaneously, related to an alleged wrongful arrest at Monkey Island in 2007. Paul claims another group of officers threatened him with a taser, “paraded” him in front of the bar in handcuffs, and charged him with obstruction for helping an injured customer into a car before they could be questioned by police. The charges were eventually dropped.

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Trials of police lawsuits rare

In Edmonton, it is uncommon for lawsuits against police services to make it to trial. A 2019 Postmedia investigation found Edmonton police paid just $177,000 to plaintiffs in lawsuits between 2013 and 2017 — well below similar jurisdictions and far less than what the service billed in legal fees.

Forty per cent of that total came from a settlement in a lawsuit that took over a decade to resolve.

Critics say suing police in Alberta is especially difficult because lawsuits against police services cannot be heard in the more plaintiff-friendly provincial court.

jwakefield@postmedia.com

twitter.com/jonnywakefield

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