Commissionaire charged after alleged assault at Calgary police facility

Calgary Police Service's headquarters building in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A commissionaire contracted by the Calgary Police Service (CPS) was charged with assault following an alleged incident with an arrestee at a police facility over the weekend.

According to a Wednesday news release, an arrestee was being processed at the Arrest Processing Section (APS), located at 12500 85 St. N.W., just after midnight on May 4 when an argument began with a commissionaire working at the facility.

The argument escalated and police believe an assault took place.

Police said neither the arrestee nor the commissionaire were injured during the incident.

After reviewing CCTV footage and conducting an investigation, charges were laid against the commissionaire on Wednesday.

Essayas Tekeste, 25, of Calgary was charged with one count of assault. He was removed as a commissionaire for CPS, pending the result of the court process.

He is scheduled to appear in court on June 19.

“The Service contracts commissionaires to perform security duties at various CPS buildings, including APS,” CPS said in the release.

“Commissionaires help officers process arrestees, however, they do not have the legal authority to use physical force while processing arrestees.”

If physical intervention is necessary during processing, police said commissionaires at APS are trained to withdraw and let an officer handle the situation.