A Vancouver man is suing police after an officer allegedly kicked him while he was being rescued from a fire in his own home.
Surveillance video filmed in the Marguerite Ford social housing complex shows police dragging Cameron Stewart out of his suite naked and into the hallway.
When he tries to sit up, an officer appears to kick him back down to the floor.
Stewart has a history with police, but his lawyer said the apparent use of force in the footage wasn’t justified.
“There’s no evidence of any threat on the part of Mr. Stewart immediately prior to the administration of use of force. It seems like the officer just up and kicked him in the gut,” said Jason Gratl, a director with the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
Stewart, who also lives with mental illness, fell asleep while cooking and caused the small fire in his unit. Staff responded to the alarms but couldn’t enter his suite so police and firefighters were called.
On top of his lawsuit, Stewart has filed a complaint with the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner, with help from the Vancouver Cop Block watchdog organization.
Cop Block spokeswoman Jennifer Allan said the case is part of a larger problem of officers using violence against vulnerable people, especially those with mental health issues.
“It was blatant police brutality and there was no need for it to happen,” Allan said.
“We’re very lucky that there is actually video evidence because there are many cases like this that happen on a daily basis but there’s no proof.”
The Vancouver Police Department said it can’t comment on the case while it is going through the complaint process.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Sheila Scott
