Vancouver Police officer pepper sprayed while working in DTES

A Vancouver Police Officer is recovering after he was pepper sprayed by a woman in the Downtown Eastside on Wednesday morning.

The Vancouver Police Department says a uniformed officer was speaking with the woman about an item she was trying to sell. After providing the officer with a fake name, she pulled a can of pepper spray out of her jacket and sprayed it in the officer’s face.

The officer had to call for help from additional officers nearby, but the woman took off. With the help of witnesses, police were able to track her down to a fenced area near the Costco where they found her with a knife to her throat.

“A K9 and officers with less-lethal options also attended and when negotiations with the woman deteriorated to a point police thought she was going to harm herself or rush officers with the knife, they deployed a taser and took her into custody,” the VPD confirmed to Daily Hive via email.