A man who was thrown to the pavement by a Port Moody police officer in an incident that was captured on camera and later uploaded to YouTube is launching a lawsuit.
In a notice of civil claim, plaintiff Herbert Ramos alleges he was assaulted by officer Ian Morrison and that the city of Port Moody is liable for its employee's actions.
Const. Luke van Winkel, Chief Const. Chris Rattenbury and Golden Spike Pub managing partner Cheryl Semenuik are also named in the lawsuit for allegedly defaming Ramos and his girlfriend, Tracey Ferris, by issuing what the suit claims are false reports to the media.
None of the allegations levelled in a notice of civil claim filed this week have been proven in court and the defendants named in the lawsuit have not formally responded.
The claim stems from an incident at the Golden Spike Pub on July 6, when Ferris and Ramos attended a birthday party at the bar.
The pair had been at the bar for nearly six hours when, upon leaving the establishment, security staff began to crowd Ferris, demanding to see her identification. When she refused, a verbal altercation ensued, the notice of civil claim states.
Ramos, who is a cameraman for CTV News, noticed the dispute and when he came to the aid of Ferris, he was restrained and removed from the pub.
Police were eventually called and the notice of claim states that "within 15 seconds of the arrival of members, the defendant Ian Morrison grabbed Mr. Ramos from behind by the neck and threw him violently backwards without warning onto the paved surface of the parking lot.
"The back of Mr. Ramos' head struck the ground and he was knocked unconscious," the document adds. "The defendant Ian Morrison crouched his weight on Mr. Ramos chest and choked Mr. Ramos, cutting of Mr. Ramos' airway, and stated in menacing tone, 'You will do exactly what you're told.' At that time, Mr. Ramos' body was still and unconscious.'"
The notice of civil claim stated that Ramos was not a threat to anyone and was not interfering with the work being conducted by police. He suffered a concussion, blurred vision, memory loss, headaches, loss of sleep and a reduced range of motion, according to the document.
Ramos and Ferris allege that Golden Spike staff provided false information to the police and that they were arrested based on that false information.
Van Winkel, the Port Moody police department's media liaison, was also named in the lawsuit for statements he issued to reporters saying that Ramos had been warned prior to being thrown on the ground.
"The media release was extensively republished and the plaintiffs' reputations were damaged by the publication and republication of the contents of the media release," said the document. "The media release is malicious and it is dishonest."
Semenuik is included in the notice of civil claim for statements she made to police and the media in the days following the incident at her bar.
Last week, both Ramos and Ferris filed a formal complaint with the office of the police complaint commissioner about the incident, which has been viewed more than 16,000 times on YouTube.
The plaintiffs are seeking general and special damages, costs and all other "relief that may be just and fair."
Semenuik did not return calls by The Tri-City News' deadline and no statements of defence have been filed.
