Canadian police claim they were responding to a call about a burglar with a knife when they encountered a random man in a parking lot and ordered him down at gunpoint, proceeding to kick, punch and knee him repeatedly in a disturbing incident caught on video.
“I didn’t do anything,” yelled Santokh Bola. “Officer please. Let me go please.”
“I beg you!”
Turns out, Bola had no knife nor was he burglarizing any homes.
And Toronto police had no excuse other than to say he matched a description.
Earlier today, Bola’s attorney filed a lawsuit against Toronto police, seeking $5 million Canadian dollars in damages.
According to [__Metro News:__](http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2015/11/18/family-releasing-video-of-alleged-assault-by-police-during-mistaken-arrest.html)
> Bola, who has an intellectual disability, suffered bruises and cuts to his head and face, his existing tremors worsened and he may have received a brain injury, the suit alleges.
> “He’s scared. He sleeps with a light on. He’s been having nightmares. This has actually traumatized him.
> We see the fear in his eyes. It’s so sad,” Sonia Bola said.
> “It’s just swept under the rug and it can’t be. These people need to be held accountable.”
As [__we’ve reported__](http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/10/canadian-cops-intimidate-videographer-by-crowding-his-personal-space-claiming-it-is-their-right/) before, it seems as if Canadian cops are taking cues from their American counterparts, which is something even experienced Canadian attorneys are realizing.
> Ken Byers, one of Bola’s lawyers, said how police behaved was inexcusable. The video, he said, speaks for itself.
> “In my personal experience, my 34 years of practice, I’ve never had a case where I have witnessed such an excessive abuse of police power and excessive force,” Byers said. “There is no reason for it.”
Before the video surfaced, Bola’s family tried to get police to address the incident, only to be ordered out of the station.
The video surfaced after they put out a call for witnesses, which got police to admit it was a mistake.
They even emphasized that they released him after beating him with no charges.
