Lawyer for accused says witness 'looking for things that you could think of ... that made him look bad'

Yousef John and Caesar Judianga were pepper-sprayed and arrested in May 2017 after calling 911 to try to stop a crime. They filed human rights complaints in 2018.

Despite calling the Crown's refusal to pursue charges "quite regrettable," Phillips says she is feeling vindicated after years of pursuing police accountability.

"I think it sends a message to the public that in order to get even a sliver of accountability, even a tiny little ray of light on transparency and accountability in a police service, you have to fight, you have to pay a personal cost, you have to wait years, and even then it will be partial," said Phillips in a phone interview.

"The system overall is quite broken."

Beaver testified he pulled out a can of bear spray after spotting an unmarked Edmonton police vehicle that appeared to be following him as he walked to a friend’s house. He said he did not know the SUV was a police vehicle and worried he might be “jumped.” When Olason and another officer exited the vehicle and identified themselves as police, however, Beaver raised his hands, took off his backpack and got on the ground.

Davidson said Beaver did everything “one would expect of a respectful citizen confronted by police officers.”

Instead, the video shows one of the officers kick Beaver in the head, forcing him face-first onto the ground. Adsett arrived a short time later and shocked him with a Taser. On several occasions, the officer who kicked Beaver appears to brace himself against a nearby wall and put both feet on Beaver’s writhing upper half.