Police allege a man assaulted an officer when they intervened in 'large fight' at a popular Vancouver beach
Police officers in Vancouver say they responded to a “large fight and a possible assault” at English Bay on Friday evening, and a person who witnessed the incident is accusing the police of racism.
One officer was sent to hospital with non life-threatening injuries and a man was arrested after police intervened in the fight which they say included 10 people.
“The officers tried to disperse the crowd, but one of the aggressors refused to leave,” says Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Const. Steve Addison in an email to CTV News Vancouver.
Video of portions of the incident, shared with CTV News Vancouver, shows three officers wielding batons, trying to gain physical control over a young Black man. They eventually handcuff and pin him to the ground. Another young man, who is white, can be seen trying to physically intervene in the arrest, but police appear to fend him off.
A person who witnessed the incident, and who said she is friends with the man who was arrested, told CTV News Vancouver that her friend had himself been trying to break up a fight.
“He broke up the fight, he didn’t do anything wrong and they’re over here arresting him and doing nothing to the white guy and it’s really messed up,” said Saina Rezaei.
She accused the police of racism, saying the cops didn’t seem to care about a white man who’d been involved in the fight.
“They don’t treat people equally, they're being racist for no reason,” she said.
The police denied the accusation. Addison alleged that eyewitnesses had told police that the man they arrested was “an aggressor” and that they “told the officers they felt unsafe.”
“What happened last night was the direct result of this man's assaultive behavior towards police and the public. It had nothing to do with race, and it is irresponsible to suggest otherwise,” Addison said.
“He became hostile, began causing a disturbance, assaulted at least one of our officers, and resisted arrest,” he said.
Local resident Susan Cunningham shot video of the arrest on her phone.
“As soon as I saw police with a young man in custody I started filming,” she said. “They were kind of trying to restrain the crowds as they (members of the crowd) were getting right in their face, shouting, ‘What is your name?’ It was a very tense situation.”
She believes police did “quite well in restraining themselves,” given how hostile the crowd was.
“I was actually worried about this crowd becoming more of a mob and worried about the safety of everyone involved because it seemed like this was ready to ignite,” she said. “Just an unruly situation and I think police did their very best to restrain things.”
Officers say they had to deal with a “large and hostile crowd” and that “other police officers were called in to keep the crowd back so the officers could safely do their jobs.”
“The suspect, a North Vancouver man in his 20s, was arrested and taken to jail. Multiple charges will be recommended,” Addison said.
Police say they also handcuffed and detained several other people.
“They were released a short time later after they had calmed down and agreed to leave the area,” Addison said. “The original incident remains under investigation.”
Police did not specify whether the man they arrested was injured, but say that two officers got cuts and bruises and “will likely be sore for a few days.” Another was sent to hospital, but is expected to make a full recovery.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.