Police who brutalize should be locked up

Lac La Biche RCMP officer pleads guilty to 'appalling' assault


EDMONTON — An RCMP officer who beat a man in custody at the Lac La Biche RCMP detachment last year has pleaded guilty to assault in provincial court where a video of the incident was shown.

The video shows Const. Desmond Sandboe lunging across a hallway toward Andrew Clyburn after the man appears to say something to the officer. Clyburn is smashed against a wall, taken to the ground and punched repeatedly in an assault that lasts approximately 40 seconds and leaves the floor smeared with fluid.

“The RCMP finds this incident appalling. The public trusts the RCMP to care for them in our custody, and we take that responsibility very seriously,” said Supt. Joe Loran, acting commanding officer for the RCMP’s K-Division, in a statement.

Court on Friday heard RCMP officers were called to the Almac bar in Lac La Biche around 3 a.m. on Sept. 13, 2009, to deal with Clyburn, who had been in a fight and was causing problems for staff.

When RCMP arrived, they found Clyburn intoxicated and bleeding from injuries. He was arrested for public intoxication.

Court heard officers took Clyburn to a local hospital. Nurses met the group at the RCMP cruiser but said they would not treat Clyburn because he was belligerent and was smashing his head inside the car. Nurses noted a cut to the back of his head, along with other injuries.

Clyburn was taken to the local RCMP detachment around 3:15 a.m. and put into a cell. Around 7:15 a.m. Clyburn was taken out of his cell and escorted into a hallway area. Sandboe had just started his shift.

The video shows Clyburn, who is not wearing shoes, getting ready to put on a sweatshirt when the assault occurs. Clyburn appears to say something to the officer, although there is no audio in the recording. That’s when the officer lunges at Clyburn from across the hallway, smashing him twice against the wall and punching him repeatedly as he takes Clyburn to the ground.

The officer continues to punch Clyburn, while the man raises his hands to protect his face. He punches Clyburn at least 10 times, while the pair struggle and move along the ground of the hallway.

The assault lasts approximately 40 seconds and two other officers can be seen watching the incident. The video then shows Clyburn being hauled to his feet and taken back down the hallway. The video shows the previously clean floor smeared with fluid.

The case is scheduled to be back in court Jan. 27, 2011, when the defence is expected to present more facts related to the case. A pre-sentence report has been ordered.

Sandboe, a nine-year veteran of the RCMP, has been suspended without pay, a disciplinary action reserved for the most serious of conduct matters.

“Const. Sandboe’s conduct has violated the public’s trust. He has also done a great disservice to the men and women of the RCMP who daily meet and exceed the public’s expectations and who uphold our values,” said Loran, the acting commanding officer.

Sandboe was initially charged with assault causing bodily harm when the charges were announced in 2009 by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which investigates actions of police in cases that result in death or injury. The charge resulted from the ASIRT investigation.

The RCMP is also conducting a code of conduct investigation, which will be completed after the case goes through the court system and could result in Sandboe’s dismissal.

Lac La Biche is about 200 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.