Police Complaint Commissioner investigating video of VPD arrest

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A video that made the rounds on social media this week showing a seemingly violent arrest of a man on the Downtown Eastside will likely lead to charges — but not for the officers involved.

The video, which was taken on Tuesday, shows a 35-year-old man rolling around on the ground on Dunlevy near Hastings Street, surrounded by officers. They use bean-bag rounds and a Taser in an attempt to subdue him.

In response to criticism online claiming the arrest was too aggressive, Constable Steve Addison with the Vancouver Police Department says police did exactly what they were supposed to do.

CONTENT WARNING: Brutal @vpd police assault on an unarmed man in the DTES — more a dozen cops ordered him to lie down, he did; then they tasered him & shot him 3 times with a beanbag gun from 10 feet away. | video from Al Fowler from @VANDUpeople pic.twitter.com/VOQBrA8Pfh

— Against Displacement (@stopdisplacemnt) July 30, 2019

But the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) says the commissioner has reviewed the video and has decided it is in the public interest to launch an investigation.

Addison says the man wasn’t following their instructions, was acting erratic, and tried to punch an officer. Staff at a nearby hotel said he was behaving aggressively in their lobby when they called police.

“The individual was taken to hospital for an evaluation. That evaluation included a psychiatric assessment. My understanding is the individual is still in hospital.”

Just in: BC's Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner says the commissioner has reviewed a video of @VancouverPD officers trying to arrest a man on the #DowntownEastside yesterday, and has decided it is in the public interest to launch an investigation.

— Alison Bailey (@abaileyVCH) July 31, 2019

Addison says police behaved appropriately given the man’s erratic behaviour and refusal to follow instructions.

“We’re expecting charges of assaulting a police officer to be laid,” he says.

OPCC launches investigation following media reports

When someone is injured during an interaction with police, the VPD is required to notify the office immediately, however the OPCC says it learned about the incident from seeing reports in the media.

Dept. Police Complaint Commissioner Andrea Spindler says the office will be doing a thorough investigation, but urges the public to wait until all the information is available.

“The video is just one piece of evidence. So we encourage everyone to not reach any conclusions until an investigation can be completed,” she says. “In this case, it involved a significant police response, which involved the use of force by police, particularly the use of intermediary weapons. The commissioner determined that it would warrant an investigation.”

Although the video was circulated widely on social media, she says that isn’t necessarily why they are treating the incident seriously.

“Having video, it helps to show a portion of the interaction that the police had with this particular individual, but that’s not the sole determining factor for the commissioner for ordering an investigation,” she says.

“We have the video, which drew significant police response, and we received information from the VPD in relation to their response and a commissioner determined that there was sufficient information that an investigation should be initiated into the officers use of force and the circumstances.”