Videos of Moosonee police assault causes outrage

Videos circulating through social media of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers arresting three First Nations residents in Moosonee are causing outrage.
The videos captured by local residents shows an elderly woman getting kicked by an officer who was straddling a man on the ground.
The officers were responding to a call on July 24 of a fight that broke out between two men in the parking lot of a downtown business.
A witness who did not want to be named said the woman became involved during the arrest because she thought the officers were being “too rough” when arresting one of the men. The witness said the woman is the mother of the man.
The police had been hitting the man in the head, which the witness described as being “unnecessary,” prompting the mother to act.
As the officer was attempting to hold down the man, the woman – sitting on the ground – appears to reach for the hand of her son. The officer then kicks her in the chest, knocking her onto her back.
Another video shows the mother writhing on the ground, moaning in pain. A man – presumably a bystander – asks if the ambulance had been called.
According to the witness, the woman and man were taken to hospital.
The OPP issued a release on the incident, but it did not address the officer’s conduct during the arrest.
The release stated that as a result of this incident, the OPP notified the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU). The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency, independent of the police, that conducts criminal investigations into circumstances involving police and civilians that have resulted in serious injury, death or allegations of sexual assault.
The officer who did the kicking was reportedly removed from the community following the incident.
Comments posted on the video indicate it is not the first time the officer in question used “more force than necessary” when making arrests within the community.
The OPP said the investigation is ongoing and charges are pending.
The OPP did not respond to a call for comment on the officer’s conduct during the arrest.