VANCOUVER—A Vancouver police officer has apologized after he was caught on video tape pushing a woman with multiple sclerosis down to the ground in the one of the country’s poorest neighbourhoods.
The 65-second video was uploaded to the web Thursday by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
It shows the 26-year-old disabled woman trying to weave her way through three male officers on a busy Downtown Eastside street last month.
One of the officers then appears to shove the woman to the ground, before walking away. The two other officers do not intervene.
“It’s not a particularly inspiring view of how policing should be done in the Downtown Eastside,” David Eby, executive director of the civil liberties group, said in an interview.
Eby said it’s hard to imagine the incident would have taken place in any other neighbourhood in the city.
“The pattern of use of force that we’re seeing tends to be focused in the 10 blocks of the Downtown Eastside,” he said.
The civil liberties association released a video earlier this month that raised questions about the arrest of a homeless Sudanese refugee within the Downtown Eastside. The force said the man tried to take an officer’s gun, but the association said he was only trying to push police away as they continuously kneed him.
The group filed a formal complaint in the case.
Eby said the group was then contacted by an advocate working with the woman last week and within days received the video, shot from a camera stationed at a nearby hotel. The incident occurred June 9.
Vancouver police held a press conference Thursday afternoon, a few hours after the video was made public.
Const. Jana McGuinness, the force’s spokeswoman, said the officer involved reported the incident to his supervisor the same day it occurred.
The department’s professional standards section then launched an investigation and notified the B.C. Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner.
McGuinness said the beat patrol officer, who’s been with the force since March 2009, apologized to the woman soon after.
“He did offer a genuine apology and he felt bad,” she said. “He regretted the incident and acknowledged the inaction after the incident when he did not offer her care.”
The officer is still on full duty pending the outcome of the internal investigation.
She said the video was obtained by an investigating officer within a couple of days of the incident but was not made public.
McGuinness said the force chose to comment once it was released by the civil liberties association because it will cause concern for many who view it.
“The VPD takes its responsibility for the safety of the residents of the Downtown Eastside very seriously,” she said. “If this incident has in any way caused the public to be concerned about our commitment to helping and serving the people of the Downtown Eastside, we are deeply sorry.”
at asstwat. Is that the same as an Assclown?
