A former BC Conservation officer is raising concerns about the RCMP's decision to arrest and take away the phones of some Coquitlam residents who asked conservation officers not to kill a family of bears.
The incident took place on Tuesday. The Conservation Officer Service initially said the three residents were arrested for obstructing officers as they searched for the bears.
Those arrested say Coquitlam RCMP briefly took them into custody and confiscated their phones. The investigation -- and the phones -- have since been turned over to the COS.
For Bryce Casavant, a former conservation officer, that's a red flag. He said he believes the officers involved did not follow the proper chain of custody for the phones.
"It's no longer a policing matter, so where are the phones?" Casavant said. "If the people were released and there's no police investigation why did the police not return the property? Because they gave it away."
Tony Faccin is one of the three people arrested in the incident. He told CTV News he has filed a formal complaint against the RCMP and is in the process of hiring a lawyer. His two neighbours are hiring lawyers as well.
"I want my phone back," Faccin said. "I wasn't out there trying to protest or anything like that. I was just simply filming."
Faccin is scheduled to appear in court in October, but he believes the ordeal will be worth it, because the public has the right to know what really happened when conservation officers killed the bears.
"I guess they don't want to see the video be released to the public," he said.
