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Violent Arrest of UWO Student Caught on Video

by Frank Liao | October 16, 2009 at 01:30 pm

513 views | 16 Recommendations | 5 comments

University of Western Ontario student Irnes Zeljkovic, 22, was filmed on video being violently arrested by campus officers, who repeatedly beat and struck him with fists, knees, and batons. Police officers said Zeljkovic resisted arrest for being intoxicated and under the influence of an unknown substance, although alcohol has already been ruled out.

The whole incident began when two people on separate floors called the campus police to complain that they were kicked out of their office by a man "who was delusional and disoriented," said Elgin Austen, head of campus police. When the officers arrived, the man allegedly attacked them, which gave the officers no choice but to use force to subdue him.

The entire arrest was captured on video by curious onlookers with their cellphone cameras. Videos of the beating were published on youtube and instantly became one of the most viewed videos of the last 24 hours, mainly because the amount of force used by the police on Zeljkovic appeared excessive.

Zeljkovic was sent to the hospital, and was later released to police custody. He was charged with mischief under $5,000, assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and escaping lawful custody.

The campus police defended their actions and do not think the officers used excessive force.

"This is the UWO, it's not the UFC and officers aren't out there to fight with people," Austen said. "The number of officers may disturb some people, but with fewer people injuries occur."

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Rhonda J Mangus

at 15:31 on October 16th, 2009

"The campus police defended their actions and do not think the officers used excessive force."

Are they kidding?? Someone needs to call for an investigation.

Hugh Askew

at 16:42 on October 16th, 2009

Film doesn't show the beginning of the incident, where the man allegedly attacked the police. There were witnesses, the truth will out.

There is a real wise rule about messing with the police......do NOT resist. I'm fairly certain that is pretty much universal.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 06:34 on October 17th, 2009

"There is a real wise rule about messing with the police......do NOT resist. I'm fairly certain that is pretty much universal."

Universal or not, Hugh, people will resist, and for many reasons, but IMO it certainly doesn't take the number of officers shown on this film to subdue ONE who may be 'combatant'.

Perhaps they need to revisit the Academy where I am certain they are taught THE RULES.

Too, IMO, any reasonable person would identify this as POLICE BRUTALITY. (This is not to imply that you are not reasonable:))

Grace H

at 16:53 on October 16th, 2009

If the man were on any sort of inihibitors the authorities should have taken that into account. The situation was only escalated by their actions. Furthermore, due to chemical imbalances in his system the student could have faced severe consequences internally.

Derby (not verified)

at 08:21 on October 17th, 2009

The policemen are not the villans in this case,they are there to protect us from people like this.What they did is used the amount of force that was needed to subdue this person.It shows in the video the whole story.If you want to see what you would have in a lawless society,look at Somalia and other parts of the world.The violence these officers used pales in comparison.People that use drugs and other criminals that prey on inocent citizens need to be dealt with the same amount of violence that they use against us.Look at our prisons and see how good that works.Criminals go in and out and just become better at what they do.