Brain-damaged B.C. man alleges RCMP officer who assaulted him on steroids

VANCOUVER – A B.C. man has filed a lawsuit alleging he sustained permanent brain damage at the hands of an RCMP officer whose violence was fuelled by steroids.

Fifty-year-old Robert Wright of Terrace, on B.C.'s north coast, was arrested in April 2012 under suspicion of driving drunk after his wife called police to say she was concerned about her husband being intoxicated.

A video obtained from the RCMP by Wright's wife, Heather Prisk, shows the handcuffed man being thrown on the floor of a holding cell by one of three Mounties.

The disturbing footage shows Wright hitting his head on the floor or the side of a bench and a pool of blood on the floor as one of the officers comments that the man is still breathing.

Wright, who is now unable to care for himself, filed a lawsuit against the RCMP and the province in January but has amended his statement of claim alleging Const. Brian Heideman had taken steroids that caused him to be unduly aggressive and violent.

Scott Stanley, Wright's lawyer, says the amendment was made after unrelated allegations surfaced about Heideman's use and distribution of steroids.