WATERLOO -- An officer with Waterloo regional police is facing three misconduct charges in relation to an arrest involving a Black Cambridge woman.
Natasha Broomes alleges Const. Jesse Foster unlawfully arrested her, used excessive force and discriminated against her during an incident on July 29, 2017, that was captured on camera by Broomes.
Broomes said she believes she was arrested because she was Black. She said at the time of the incident she was “fearful” for her life.
Foster has been charged with unlawful arrest, excessive use of force and discreditable conduct. Foster pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
A disciplinary hearing is underway.
Foster, who took the stand during the hearing’s second day, told counsel he did not arrest Broomes because she was Black.
“It didn’t matter who was in the back of the car, they would’ve gotten those same tickets," he said at the hearing.
On July 29, 2017, Foster said he was responding to an unrelated possible weapons call in Cambridge around 5:20 a.m. The description of the suspect was a Black man with dreadlocks driving a red SUV.
Foster said as he was driving towards the call, he noticed what he believed was a speeding vehicle that matched the suspect's description, so he followed that vehicle to Crombie Street.
The driver of the vehicle was Natasha Broomes.
Foster said Broomes refused to identify herself when asked and then she started to walk away.
“At this point, I’m having to make a decision, I’m investigating a weapons offence … so I have my grounds for reasonable suspicion,” Foster testified. “While that’s going on, I have a parallel highway traffic act, identifying the driver and speaking to her about her speed.”
He said because Broome started to walk away he “had no other choice but to place her under arrest” for failing to identify herself.
Foster also said Broomes resisted arrest.
“I was trying to reason with her, she continued to pull away. I was attempting to grab her left arm or gain some sort of control, I was unable to," he said.
Foster said then brought Broomes' face down onto the grass.
In the video, you can hear Broomes yelling “let me go, you’re hurting me.”
Broomes testified yesterday that she was in “fight or flight mode” at the time of the incident. “So many Black people are getting killed by police for no reason,” she said.
She said Foster grabbed her and slammed her up against the back of her vehicle. “I’m hurting, I’m afraid, I have a lot of things going through my mind. I’m aggravated and agitated and upset,” Broomes testified.
Foster said he did not use excessive force.
Waterloo regional police wouldn't comment as the matter is currently before an independent tribunal.
“The Waterloo Regional Police Service takes all complaints and allegations against its members very seriously. Under the Police Services Act we are unable to suspend an officer without pay unless convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment," a spokesperson for WRPS said in a statement to CTV News.
The hearing will continue tomorrow.
