AbbyPD officer punches man in face outside Offspring concert (VIDEO)
An Abbotsford Police Department officer was caught on video punching a man in the face outside a concert this weekend, and the incident is now under review by the force’s Professional Standards Section.
The officer punched the man while arresting him outside the Offspring and Simple Plan concert at Abbotsford Centre on Saturday evening.
According to police, officers were dealing with one concert-goer when the unrelated man interjected and “began to interfere” with the investigation. The man apparently “ignored police direction to disengage,” and officers arrested him for obstruction.
Part of the incident was caught on camera by witness Marty Gaites. Onlookers can be heard saying the man did nothing — and that police went after the wrong guy.
“This cop grabbed him from behind and choked him out,” a man is heard saying off-camera, as police bring the man lying on the sidewalk back to a standing position.
While the officers maneuver his arms behind his back, one officer forcefully punches him in the face — twice.
The man falls backward onto the road from the impact, and a white SUV swerves to avoid him.
“Hey, I got that on camera you piece of sh*t,” a man says off-camera. “Punching a guy in the fucking face? What a goof.”
Several more officers then came over and appear to detain the man. Gaites said the man was then loaded into a van.
Seeing the violence made Gaites feel “sick to his stomach” — especially because he didn’t think it was necessary.
“He definitely didn’t deserve that kind of force,” he told Daily Hive. “I mean, cops are meant to de-escalate, not escalate.”
Abbotsford police haven’t said the man was charged with anything, and confirmed in a news release Monday that the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner was notified about the event on Sunday.
“AbbyPD is committed to obtaining all information which led to the use of force in this situation. Unfortunately, as this incident is under investigation, we cannot provide further comment. However, anyone who may have witnessed this incident or has video is asked to contact Abby PD.”
Anyone wishing to submit video to Abbotsford police can quote file number 2022-49281.