VANCOUVER -- Reddit and Facebook were full of speculation last weekend as users watched and shared video of a man jumping on top of a car at the intersection of 210 Street and Dewdney Trunk Road.
The incident happened on Saturday afternoon, and Ridge Meadows RCMP tweeted Saturday evening that they were aware of the incident, had identified the participants, and would release more details on Monday.
When they released those details - that a man had been arrested for assault and mischief and that he and the female driver of the car knew each other - they also expressed concern that they only heard about the incident after it had already been posted online.
"Please consider the perspective of the victim and the fact that what you share, or when you share, may have an impact on the investigational outcome," said Ridge Meadows RCMP spokesperson Const. Julie Klaussner in Monday's news release.
"There is always more to the before, during and after of an incident and not just a short video clip you see on social media," she said.
CTV News Vancouver reached out to Klaussner to ask for further explanation of just how posting a video like this one on social media can undermine police investigations, and what officers would prefer to see people do in such situations, rather than post on social media.
For police, Klaussner said, the concern comes down to a combination of timing and the possibility that a victim will feel intimidated by the online attention.
"I specifically referred to it from the victim perspective because in a lot of instances it is difficult for people to come forward to police," she wrote in an email to CTV News. "Now, imagine if an incident you are involved with has 'gone viral,' shared multiple times and is full of speculation. How comfortable would you be deciding to speak to police?"
In this particular incident, she said, police saw speculation that the incident was a car-jacking, that it was drug-related and that it was a ride-hailing trip gone wrong, none of which proved to be true.
Whether it's true or not, this type of speculation can become attached to the narrative around a particular incident, which can have an effect on public perception, potentially making the evidence "tainted" if presented in court, Klaussner said.
That said, police recognize that social media is a part of how people interact with each other and the world, and they can't stop people from posting videos of potentially criminal incidents.
"It isn't realistic to ask the public to not post on social media, and truthfully, we can't stop that … everyone in Canada has the right to free speech," Klaussner said. "What we are asking people is that, if you are witnessing an altercation or an incident, particularly where someone may be in danger, we would hope that a witness would call police prior to taking time to post something. The sooner police are involved in any situation the better."
"Stopping and taking the time to post a video prior to calling police can, in some instances, be the difference in locating and providing safety to someone," she added.
