Crown drops charges against Chief Adam in RCMP altercation

All charges have been dropped against Chief Allan Adam of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation that were laid following a violent arrest that took place on March 10, in front of a casino in Fort McMurray, Alberta, according to the National Post.

On Wednesday, court records were presented to a Fort McMurray provincial court judge showing charges of Adam resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer but were withdrawn by the Crown.

Video evidence of Adam's arrest was captured by the RCMP officer's dashcam and that footage was release to the public earlier this month. The video is 12 minutes long and clearly shows the altercation from beginning to end. At one point Chief Adam can be heard saying, “I’m tired of being harassed by the RCMP.”

There is much back and forth between Chief Adam and the RCMP officer and at one point Adam gets into a fighting stance, taking off his jacket and coming towards the officer. Adam's wife is also present and arguing as well with the officer. At one point the officer puts his arm onto the woman and shouts in pain, prompting Adam to say, "Hey! Leave my wife alone! You come for me."

A few minutes later, after some arguing, Adam gets out of the truck’s passenger seat and takes off his jacket as he strides toward the officer. A woman in the driver’s seat gets out and Adam crouches as though bracing for a fight.

Around seven minutes into the three arguing back and forth a second RCMP officer arrives on the scene and swiftly tackles Chief Adam to the ground before landing a harsh punch to his head while the two continue to struggle on the ground. Adam is eventually handcuffed and taken into custody.

The case is currently being investigated by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team and many politicians and social media users are demanding answers for the RCMP's handling of Adam.