This scene from a YouTube video depicts a confrontation between Calgary Transit officers and a couple of apparently drunk individuals in downtown Calgary early Monday morning.

If not for the uniforms, there'd be no controversy.

If not for the uniforms, it's nothing more than a video of foul-mouthed drunks getting the comeuppance they richly deserve, for acting like juvenile jerks in a public place.

There are many Calgarians who'll say the joint-smoking rubes on the downtown C-Train platform deserved far more than they received, for taunting and resisting two Calgary Transit officers early Monday morning.

But the throngs of people who'd happily queue to kick these young punks in the seat of their baggy pants aren't peace officers.

Peace officers are trained to keep their cool, and to handle volatile situations with professionalism and tact.

When you wear a uniform, you can't let temper get the better of you.

And that's why there's controversy.

Instead of two fools getting what they deserved, this is footage of officers possibly using excessive force to detain and arrest two suspects.

Whether it really is excessive force is up for debate -- but it does appear to show one Transit officer losing his temper, chasing a suspect, and then repeatedly slamming his knee into his lower back, while the suspect is on the ground.

The video, obtained by the Sun, starts with a local hip-hop artist named Cody "The Catch" Tkach smoking what appears to be a joint, while standing on the bench of a C-Train platform downtown.

Tkach, who tells the cameraman he's drunk, had just finished a performance at the Distillery Pub on 7 Ave. S.W.,

As Tkach stands on the bench, puffing away, a person later identified as his brother T.J. is heard to say, "Cody's going to get arrested before he even gets back in the (expletive) bar."

It's an uncanny prophecy.

Transit police soon arrive, and one officer is seen smiling at Tkach as he explains smoking isn't allowed.

The film suddenly cuts off, and resumes with the same officer restraining Tkach and demanding he produce identification.

Be it bravado or lack of brains, a squirming Tkach curses and offers to produce his male member instead.

Chaos ensues, as the officers attempt to arrest Tkach -- as one cop pins the struggling rapper, the other officer uses pepper-spray and swings his baton to keep the suspect's angry friend at bay.

It goes on like this for a few minutes, and then calms slightly.

But when the person identified as T.J. starts mocking the second officer, calling him a "biatch," the cop suddenly gives chase and tackles the suspect to the ground.

He's then seen kneeing the face-down suspect, twice.

It's this double-kicking that's at the heart of the allegations of brutality.

Tkach's supporters say it's clear the officer lost his temper, and physically assaulted a helpless suspect.

"Staying calm is part of their job -- they knew they were walking into a situation that was potentially volatile, and they did nothing to prepare," said Bill Speta, a friend of the Tkach brothers.

The Tkachs are both charged with assaulting an officer, and are said to be consulting with a lawyer.

Through layman's eyes, it certainly appears one of the officers lost his cool -- the knees to the kidney area suggesting a boiling temper rather than a reasonable restraint tactic.

But Brian Whitelaw, head of transit safety, said it's a technique used to get a suspect's hands behind his back.

"That move is an approved stunning technique and it's designed to get the hands of an individual out to be handcuffed," said Whitelaw.

Whitelaw said the incident is still under review, but it appears officers did everything right.

He said the second suspect had earlier shoved the officer, something difficult to see in the edited tape.

"From my perspective so far, the officers have acted consistent with their training, our policy and the law," said Whitelaw.

Still, an independent review is in order.

Whether these drunken fools were asking for trouble or even hoping to trigger a confrontation with police isn't the question. No one expects intelligent behaviour from silly young men who can't handle their booze.

But officers wearing a uniform that's supposed to represent a reasonable and measured response?

Public trust in law enforcement requires exemplary behaviour from peace officers.

In this case, it's not clear that trust was earned.

MICHAEL.PLATT@SUNMEDIA.CA