A video that shows police hitting a University of Western Ontario student last Wednesday has provoked strong reactions after it was posted on Youtube. Little is discernable through the hazy image of half a dozen black-clad officers surrounding Irnes Zeljkovic, a student at the University of Western Ontario. After a brief glimpse of a white T-shirt and his pixilated head in the middle of the struggle on the floor, Zeljkovic is soon lost from sight. The video shows police officers punching and kneeing the student, and one voice repeatedly yelling, “Stop resisting! Give us your arm!”
UWO campus police were alerted when Zeljkovic, a 6’2,” 220-pound fourth-year student with no previous police record, allegedly burst into an office on campus, claiming to be a professor as he attempted to drive out the previous occupant. He was described as being delusional and out of control as police arrived on the scene. Elgin Austen, director of Western’s campus security, told the Globe and Mail that Zeljkovic suffered a minor leg injury and was bleeding.
The Canadian Press reported that Zeljkovic evaded the officers and barricaded himself in the office before leading police on a chase through the building as they attempted to bring him into custody.
While the majority of those who commented on the Youtube video expressed disdain for what they deemed excessive force, eyewitnesses of the arrest seem more lenient. The user who posted the video on Youtube wrote on his page, “Many things occurred before the taping began. I witnessed the suspect refusing to comply and attempting to push his way through the officers. […] I believe the police response was justified and reasonable based on what I witnessed.” The few bystanders in the video remained calm.
“I could see him [Zeljkovic] trying to fight back and holding his arms in,” Daniel Trudgeon, a student witness, told the Globe and Mail. “He was completely unresponsive to the officers.”
Zeljkovic has been charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, and mischief. He has been fined $5,000 while investigations continue to determine his condition during the event, review the use of police force, and provide counselling for those affected, including Zeljkovic and his family.
