Two Vancouver police officers involved in a jaywalking stop that ended with a former UBC football player being brought to the ground and repeatedly Tasered are now under criminal investigation.
B.C.’s Deputy Police Complaint Commissioner Rollie Woods ordered a probe last month after seeing video captured by one of Jamiel Moore-Williams' friends that showed the violent arrest on Granville Street in February.
The clip also shows Moore-Williams offering to show his ID, and when that doesn’t satisfy the officers, he says, "This is illegal.”
“What am I doing? I’m getting my ID. Why are you doing that to my arm?” says Moore-Williams as he is pushed over.
The 22-year-old personal trainer, who was charged with obstruction and given a jaywalking ticket, complained that he was treated roughly because he's black.
Vancouver's Deputy Chief Howard Chow rejected those allegations in February, saying, “I am not sure where race fits into this…We deal with incidents like this on a regular basis where people are being difficult, and I can tell you in very small instances do we actually use force.”
Regardless of the motive, RCMP investigators are now also analyzing the video frame by frame—including the moment an officer allegedly struck Moore-Williams with his knee and the moment another allegedly deployed the Taser—to determine whether the police's use of force was reasonable.
"We are investigating allegations under the Criminal Code, but ultimately it will be up to the BC Prosecution Service to determine whether charges are appropriate," Mounties said in a statment.
It's unclear whether the RCMP is also investigating the Vancouver officers' claim that Moore-Williams put one of them in a headlock. That alleged incident is not shown in the video.
"The police officers could be charged criminally," said the former athlete's lawyer, Donna Turko. "They'll have to get their own lawyers and Moore-Williams could become a witness against them."
Use of force expert Orville Nickel said it might come down to whether using a Taser during a jaywalking stop was reasonable and proportionate.
"Multiple officers should be able to take that situation into control," he said. "The best way to make that under control is some kind of dialogue."
With files from CTV Vancouver's Jon Woodward
Correction: A previous version of this story reported that Moore-Williams accused police of putting him in a headlock. Police claim that Moore-Williams put an officer into a headlock.
