VPD reassigns police officers caught on video taking photos with dead body
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) has reassigned two officers who were captured on video taking photos next to a dead body last week.
After the incident occurred on February 25, footage of the officers was shared by Instagram user @zac.news. The video appears to show a VPD officer posing near a cadaver at Third Beach as a second officer takes a photo.
The person behind the camera asks the officers, “Is that a deceased person?” To which one responds, “Ya.”
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Simi Heer, Director of Public Affairs for the VPD, tells Daily Hive that the two officers were reassigned on Monday morning to “non-deployable, administrative positions while the OPCC investigation is ongoing.”
“Any change in this status will depend on the outcome of the OPCC investigation,” Heer explains in an email.
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In an earlier exchange, Heer told Daily Hive that the service’s Professional Standards Section had sent the minute-long clip to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.
She said there would be a Police Act investigation into the officers’ conduct. The status of the officers is also under review.
“I can tell you that the VPD does not condone, and strictly prohibits, officers taking photographs without an authorized purpose,” Heer stressed.
“We expect all of our officers and civilian professionals to act in line with the values of our organization, including integrity, compassion, accountability and respect.”
With files from Zoe Demarco.
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