Vancouver police officers not guilty of assault during 2017 arrest, judge rules

A B.C. provincial court judge has acquitted three Vancouver police officers on assault charges stemming from an arrest more than six years ago.

The charges were laid in connection with the arrest of a man in May 2017 at the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain Station in Vancouver.

CCTV footage from the station that was released by the court shows Const. Josh Wong chasing down and tackling David Cowie, who was suspected of theft and obstruction.

Wong, who was not charged, can be heard in the video urgently calling for back up.

Constables Beau Spencer, Gregory Jackson and Brandon Blue all rushed to Wong’s aid.

The trio can then be seen hitting Cowie with a number of punches and knee strikes.

The court heard that Cowie suffered several broken ribs and a collapsed lung during the incident.

After a lengthy investigation, B.C.'s police watchdog recommended charges to Crown counsel in February 2019.

Spencer and Jackson, who has since retired, were both charged with assault, while Blue was initially charged with assault causing bodily harm, but that was later reduced to assault.

Justice Jay Solomon rejected Crown’s claim that the three used excessive and unnecessary force, and accepted the three officers’ testimonies that their use of force was consistent with their training.

Last year, Spencer testified at a coroner’s inquest regarding his involvement in the 2015 arrest of Myles Gray, who died during the interaction, which left him with several injuries.

POLICE UNION OUTRAGED

While speaking to reporters outside the court house following the verdict, Vancouver Police Union president Ralph Kaisers called the case a “persecution” of their members.

“I will say I’m very disappointed in the fact the IIO in their investigation brought this forward to Crown counsel, and that Crown counsel even approved charges, and that we found ourselves in court,” Kaisers said.

He said the force used was well within the guidelines.

“We knew from day one they had done nothing wrong,” he added.