VPD officer assaulted during arrest on Granville Street

A VPD officer was allegedly assaulted during an arrest on the Granville Strip in downtown Vancouver over the weekend.

According to VPD Sgt. Aaron Roed, the incident took place just before 7 pm on Saturday.

Roed told Daily Hive that the suspect was arrested at the scene and taken to jail.

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“The investigation is ongoing and the suspect was eventually released from jail on a promise-to-appear to attend court at a later date,” said Roed.

The officer involved in the incident “is recovering and will be fine,” he added.

According to VPD Deputy Chief Howard Chow – who called the offender a “violent drug dealer” – assaults on officers were up by 40% in 2019 compared to 2018.

In 2020, he noted, police have seen this trend continue with an increase of over 60%.