"Brutal arrest": Man in Coquitlam Tasered five times and repeatedly kicked
Editor’s note: This story contains video and language that some viewers may find disturbing.
An arrest by two RCMP officers is being scrutinized after video captured what people are calling a “brutal” takedown of one man.
A witness, who has asked to remain anonymous, told Daily Hive the incident happened around 6:50 pm Monday, January 22, outside the John B. Pub in Coquitlam, located at 1000 Austin Avenue.
He explained that his girlfriend was outside speaking to a man in a red shirt who allegedly said that people who gave him trouble “deserved to have their heads cut off.” Immediately after, a bar staff member suggested the girlfriend return inside because people at the adjacent liquor store called the police on the man.
When she returned, the witness said he went outside to see what was happening.
“On my way out the door, I saw police pulling in extremely quickly, and as I walked outside, I pulled out my phone and started recording,” he said.
The video begins with an officer seen speedily stepping back from the suspect and removing a Taser stun gun from his holster.
Daily Hive has edited the video for privacy reasons.
Man in Coquitlam Tasered five times and repeatedly kicked from Daily Hive on Vimeo.
Another officer is seen kicking the suspect but steps back as the man balls his fist. As two officers stand a few feet away, the second officer points his Taser at the man as well.
An officer can be heard saying, “Tase him, Tase him, Tase him,” as they both trigger the weapon.
Amid the crackling noise from the Taser, an officer is heard instructing the man to “get on the f*cking ground, get on the ground.”
The man in the red shirt is seen trying to remove the wires of the stun gun from his body.
An officer repeats, “Get on the ground.”
While the man sits on a block planter outside the bar, an officer uses pepper spray and the other officer triggers a third shock from a Taser. The man then stands up and can be heard saying, “Go home, go home,” as he crosses his arms and kneels on the ground. As he kneels on the ground, an officer is seen kicking the suspect’s back several times.
Another officer is heard repeating, “Get on the fucking ground,” and sets off a fourth Taser shock.
As the man sits on the ground, he’s heard screaming, “Ow, ow.”
A man in a grey hoodie is seen walking towards the ongoing arrest. He can be heard saying, “You know me, bud,” while leaning over to speak to the man and seemingly continuing to calm him.
A fifth shock from a Taser is set off.
A woman is later heard yelling, “Disability, he is disability, he has disabilities.”
An officer turns his head to respond, “That’s fine. Back up.”
She repeats, “He has disabilities.”
Man and woman claiming to know suspect speak to RCMP. (Screenshot)
After several witnesses back away, near the end of the one-minute and forty-second clip, the man can be seen lying between bushes with an officer above him.
The witness who captured the video said they spoke to police and provided the footage to Mounties.
In a statement to Daily Hive, Coquitlam RCMP said officers involved in the arrest were responding to a report of a man threatening people with a knife at the John B Pub that evening.
The video of the arrest has been shared on Instagram, where many have condemned the force officers used during the arrest.
The caption on the video, which Daily Hive has not included in our piece for privacy concerns, claims the video shows a “brutal arrest of a man.”
One person said, “Cops need better training. This should be an example of what not to be done. They are just randomly kicking him and yelling at him, completely clueless.”
Others called the actions by the officers “excessive” and suggested it was “police brutality.”
Mounties did not comment on the officer’s tactics of force used during the arrest and did not confirm whether or not the suspect was injured.
“Considering the man’s privacy and the wishes of his care team, we will not be providing additional information,” RCMP said.
The file is still under investigation.
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