Man in arrest video handed 30-day sentence for fleeing from police

The Regina man whose arrest in December was caught on video — and which spawned a lawsuit — has been handed a 30-day jail sentence in the case.

Rocky Lonechild initially was charged with resisting arrest, but that charge was amended and he was sentenced Wednesday for fleeing from police.

He’s to serve his term concurrently to another sentence he’s serving.

Lonechild was arrested Dec. 13. He ran from a vehicle when it was stopped by police and, when officers caught up to him, his arrest was recorded by a nearby home’s surveillance camera.

The video shows Lonechild running and being tackled into the snow by an officer, then being handcuffed on the ground by two officers while a third watches. Another officer runs up and knees Lonechild in the back four times.

Lonechild suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung in the encounter.

His family subsequently held a media conference, claiming the force used during the arrest was excessive. The family also filed a complaint with the Regina Police Service.

The police responded by saying they believed Lonechild had been part of a home invasion in which a gun had been used.

A few days after the incident, Chief Evan Bray said officers didn’t find a gun in the vehicle in which Lonechild had been riding or in the possession of any of the other people they arrested.

Lonechild has filed a lawsuit over his arrest, alleging police misconduct. The suit names the Regina Board of Police Commissioners, one of the officers involved in the arrest, the three attending paramedics, and the Saskatchewan Health Authority.