The Vancouver police officers who brought a former UBC football player to the ground and Tasered him repeatedly over alleged jaywalking violation are now under investigation, CTV News has learned.
B.C.’s police complaint commissioner has ordered a probe into what happened during the arrest of Jamiel Moore-Williams on the Granville Strip in February. Deputy Police Complaint Commissioner Rollie Woods is concerned that the explanation provided by the Vancouver Police Department doesn’t match what is shown in a cellphone video of the incident.
“It’s alleged that he (Moore-Williams) choked one of the officers. That’s not evident in what we saw. If there’s more video we’d like to see it,” Woods said.
“The commissioner made a decision to order an investigation under the Police Act,” Woods said, adding that his office has asked the RCMP to also look to see if there was any excessive force in the takedown, he added.
“The RCMP will conduct their own investigation to determine whether there was any criminal conduct by the police,” Woods said.
Moore-Williams, a 22-year-old personal trainer and former UBC Thunderbird defensive end, was walking on Granville Street with two friends after a night out. They crossed Helmcken Street to avoid a man throwing rocks at passersby.
He walked in front of a marked police car, which honked at him. He said he reacted by raising his arms. Officers, however, allege he gave them the middle finger. That’s when they got out to issue him a jaywalking ticket.
Then the stories diverge – and the video begins. Police claim he refused to provide identification and put one officer in a headlock and that’s why he was taken down and Tasered at least five times.
But there is no indication of that in a cellphone video taken by one of his friends that has some gaps, but is continuous from shortly before the takedown to when Moore-Williams is on the ground. It 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.
Moore-Williams has claimed that his race had something to do with why he was stopped, and why a jaywalking ticket got out of hand.
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.”
At the time, the VPD suggested there may be more video that could give a more complete picture of what happened. One possible source was what appeared to be a set of cameras atop a nearby pole, but which CTV News has confirmed is a set of wi-fi antennae.
Additional video hasn’t surfaced so far, according to Woods and Moore-Williams’ lawyer, Donna Turko.
“I have received disclosure from Crown,” said Turko. “One video only.”
Moore-Williams is fighting two counts of obstruction of a police officer that stem from the incident, as well as the jaywalking ticket, she said.
“He still has some lingering injury from the incident and is trying to deal with this while he’s working,” she said.
The RCMP confirmed the referral in an email to CTV News, saying “At the request of the OPCC, the BC RCMP has been requested to conduct an investigation into the matter involving members of the Vancouver Police Department and Mr. Jamiel Moore-WilliamsTthe investigation has been assigned and is underway.”
The VPD declined to comment for this story, citing the ongoing investigation.
