Hamilton man Tasered after reported seizure faces charges as police say he assaulted officer

A Hamilton woman says she's "disgusted" thatHamilton police officers used a Taser on her partner shortly after he suffered a seizure, and then charged him with three counts of assault, saying he concussed an officer during the incident.

Chantelle Chevrierposted to social media about what she said occurred over the weekend, andconfirmed to CBC Hamilton the posts were hers. She said she and her partner, Marcus Charles, won'tspeak out further until they get a lawyer.

"Marcus was screaming in pain, the video will make goose bumps all over your body," she wrote on a GoFundMe page that says Charles "will need legal help."

"No one should ever be treated like this."

Chevrier said Charles, who has epilepsy, had a seizure while working at Canadian Tire on Sunday afternoon. The type of seizure he had is unclear.

She said staff called paramedics to help him.

• Warning: The videos may be distressing to some viewers:

Hamilton police spokesperson Jackie Penman told CBC Hamilton that police received a call from paramedics because of a "combative patient."

"Upon arrival, officers were met with escalating behaviour that included physically assaulting two officers," Penman said in a written statement, adding Charles also assaulted a paramedic.

"We appreciate that the individual's medical condition may have affected the events as they unfolded."

Chevrier's Facebook post states officers pulled out their guns on Charles and used a Taser.

"Marcus wasn't even coherent," she said.

"Moments after being Tased, multiple officers manhandle Marcus to the ground where they then sat on his chest and neck," she wrote.

Police say incident lasted 48 minutes

Chevrier shared two videos, seemingly of the incident, on her Facebook page.

A seven-second video appears to show Charles being shocked while lying on the ground. He appears to reach for an officer's leg before the officer grabs him.

Another video, which runs for almost 90 seconds, appears to show Charles on the ground screaming as officers and paramedics surround him.

A person off camera, seemingly recording the video, saysan officer used the Taser after Charles was standing and taking a breath instead of following officers' orders to sitdown.

Penman said police never pulled out their firearms, but did use a Taser "forthe safety of the individual, officers and paramedics,"and to get control of the situation. The entire interaction, she said, lasted nearly 48 minutes.

"Hamilton police have obtained video that shows the entire incident and the officers' actions were appropriate to the situation they faced," she wrote.

According to Penman,Charles assaulted a paramedic and two police officers, one of whom got a concussion. As a result, three assault charges have been laid against him, she said.

Chevrier wrote on Facebook that Charles didn't assault anyone and said what happened to him should "never happen to anyone."

"Especially those who are in medical distress calling for help from the people who are supposed to help our community instead they did more damage than the actual seizure," she wrote on the GoFundMe page.

She said first responders need better training and she's seeking a lawyer to fight the charges.

Community groups respond

A joint statement by several community groups released Wednesday condemned police actions.

"Medical distress should never be met with force and we condemn these blatant acts of violence against a member of our community who required urgent medical attention," the statement said.

It was co-signed by the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre, the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic and the Disability Justice Network of Ontario.

"We are appalled by the HPS and paramedics' response to the situation We view this incident with the knowledge that people who live with the intersections of Blackness and disability are twice as likely to experience police violence and be viewed as threatening when they are in need of support."

The organizations said they have multiple questions, including why someone under medical distress was charged.

Epilepsy advocate says more training needed

Cynthia Milburn ischief executive officerofEpilepsy South Central Ontario, which provides education on seizures and advocates for people who experience them. Milburn saidCanadian Tire, the paramedics and police should havehandled the situation better and likely need more training.

Canadian Tire and Hamilton paramedics didn't respond to questions from CBC Hamilton.

Milburn said calling the police was the "worst" move.

"You have to talk very calmly to a person having a seizure they need reassurance, they need to be calmed down. They don't need someone coming at them with weapons. It's just appalling."

She added that seizures present ina variety of ways,can last a range of time and cause different behaviours.

"Dealing with a seizure of any type ... just walk around with them and talk to them. It's all going to be irrational behaviour ... but seizures end."