Buddy Tavares smiles as he leaves the Kelowna Court House after being released on bail on Monday, January 10.
The Kelowna man kicked in the face while being arrested by the RCMP says he was just doing his job when he fired his shotgun to scare geese away from a golf course last Friday, and he is mystified by the force's accusation that the incident is somehow connected to domestic violence.
Buddy Tavares, 51, was already dealing with a brain injury from a motorcycle accident when he was kicked by a plainclothes RCMP officer during a violent takedown that was caught on video.
"I was almost right back to normal and that's all gone," he said.
Mr. Tavares has a black eye, loose teeth and said he has a constant headache. "I wake up and I take Tylenol, and through the day I'm just chewing 'em."
The officer involved has since been suspended with pay while he faces an internal RCMP code of conduct investigation, as well as a criminal investigation.
Mr. Tavares was arrested after police responded to a call that an employee of the Harvest Golf Club in Kelowna was on the grounds firing a gun. Mr. Tavares is a long-time employee of the club and one of his duties was scaring away geese with a shotgun.
But police say Mr. Tavares is on disability leave from the club, did not have permission to be there Friday, and there were no permits in place for the use of firearms or noisemakers to scare birds.
Mr. Tavares, however, says he resumed geese-control duties about two weeks ago and was authorized to use a shotgun "at my discretion."
"I go there every day but there's not geese every day," he added.
The Harvest Golf Club's administrative assistant, Keri Fisher, said the club would not comment on the incident or Mr. Tavares, who has been charged with careless use of a firearm.
Police have said the incident is connected to a "domestic violence situation," an allegation that baffles Mr. Tavares and his family.
Mr. Tavares's former wife, Trudi Tavares, also works at the golf club but has said she was "absolutely not" the victim of violence at her former husband's hands.
Mr. Tavares said he has "no idea" where the accusation comes from. He pointed out that Ms. Tavares was waiting for him at the Kelowna courthouse when he was released on bail Monday.
"We're good friends, we do lunch together, breakfast together, I go to her house, she comes to mine," he said. "I'm getting together with her tonight, for Christ's sake."
Constable Steve Holmes, Kelowna RCMP spokesman, said Tuesday that while Mr. Tavares isn't charged with domestic violence, "it forms part of the background" that supports the careless use of a firearm charge.
Police pulled Mr. Tavares over in his truck about five kilometres away from the club. Mr. Tavares said he was shocked to see police pointing guns at him.
He said he obeyed an officer's order to get out of his truck and onto the ground. "And then it's sort of a blank," he said of his memory.
The video, however, clearly captured an officer giving him a swift kick to the head. The video also shows Mr. Tavares's bloodied and battered face as he is led away.
"I have no idea what I could have done different," he said. "I was doing everything he said. Maybe I should have jumped out of the truck and landed on my face."
Special to The Globe and Mail