Vancouver police condemning man filmed backflipping off Cambie Bridge

VPD sharing a strong warning after video surfaced of a man doing a back flip off the Cambie Street bridge. David Zura explains.

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A video has surfaced online showing a man doing a backflip off the Cambie Bridge, and Vancouver Police are calling it a dangerous social media stunt.

Cst. Steve Addison says they’re strongly condemning the stunt as it could’ve turned deadly.

The video shows a young man stepping over the Cambie Bridge’s railing and then pushing himself off backward into a flip before plunging into the icy water.

“I understand that with the proliferation of TikTok and Instagram. There are all kinds of people out there who are trying to get themselves noticed to become TikTok famous,” Addison says.

The account behind the post is also responsible for sharing several similar videos showing similar jumps in more secluded areas.

“It is a busy waterway. There’s a lot of boats that are coming and going. So, somebody jumping off the bridge could impede somebody’s movement, startle somebody, cause confusion and lead to a dangerous situation. Coldwater shock, the water itself, and False Creek we all know isn’t the cleanest. I certainly wouldn’t want to be drinking that. There are all kinds of debris under there. For example, there’s a sailboat that caught fire under here not long ago. The fire department came and they did put the boat, but the boat sank and it hasn’t been salvaged yet,” he explains. “So somebody jumping from that bridge at a lower tied who doesn’t see that obstacle under the bridge could impale themselves are or seriously hurt themselves.”

One man involved in the jump is asking not to be identified but in a private Instagram message he told CityNews, he describes those involved as professionals who know what they’re doing.

He adds, they did check the depth of the water before making the jump and that someone was on the lower half of the bridge keeping an eye out for other traffic.

He goes on to clarify, “We’re not trying to cause any trouble we were just trying to have some fun and we recognize and respect if the community doesn’t want this done again.”

Vancouver Police say there are a lot of risks associated with this type of behaviour and you could even face charges.

“We want to avoid a situation where stunts like these and leading to copy-cats.”

The video has now been deleted.

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