VPD officers use Taser, beanbag gun on 'aggressive' man in DTES
A 35-year-old Surrey man was transported to hospital on Tuesday morning due to drug impairment and after an arrest that involved him being shot by a Taser and a beanbag gun by Vancouver Police officers.
The incident was shared online shared by the Alliance Against Displacement (AAD), an organization that supports communities living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
CONTENT WARNING: Brutal @vpd police assault on an unarmed man in the DTES — more a dozen cops ordered him to lie down, he did; then they tasered him & shot him 3 times with a beanbag gun from 10 feet away. @GlobalBC @CBCNews @CTVNews | video from Al Fowler from @VANDUpeople pic.twitter.com/VOQBrA8Pfh
— Against Displacement (@stopdisplacemnt) July 30, 2019
According to the AAD, the incident –which took place outside the Patricia Hotel at the corner of Hastings and Dunlevy — was a “brutal” attack by VPD officers on an “unarmed man in the DTES.”
AAD says “more than a dozen cops” ordered the victim to lie down and when he did “they tasered & shot him 3 times with a beanbag gun from 10 feet away.”
The AAD claims an officer “pulled up in his car fast, pulled his shotgun from the trunk and, and shot the man — laying down with his arms in the air — 3 times with beanbags.”
The cop who shot him pulled up in his car fast, pulled his shotgun from the trunk, and shot the man — laying down with his arms in the air — 3 times with beanbags
— Against Displacement (@stopdisplacemnt) July 30, 2019
“This @vpd police violence was carried out in the middle of the street in the middle of the day in front of dozens of DTES residents — this is violence against the whole community, it says police will use unlimited force on in the open in the DTES, that they have unlimited power,” wrote the AAD, adding that police instructed the man to roll on his stomach but he told them he was unable to.
“He was clearly trying to comply but they tased and shot him until he couldn’t walk — they carried him off on a stretcher, laughing.”
This @vpd police violence was carried out in the middle of the street in the middle of the day in front of dozens of DTES residents — this is violence against the whole community, it says police will use unlimited force out in the open in the DTES, that they have unlimited power
— Against Displacement (@stopdisplacemnt) July 30, 2019
The cops yelled at him to roll onto his stomach and he yelled “I can’t!” He was clearly trying to comply, but they tased and shot him until he couldn’t walk — they carried him off on a stretcher, laughing
— Against Displacement (@stopdisplacemnt) July 30, 2019
VPD says man “refused to comply with police demands”
Sgt. Jason Robillard, media relations officer with the VPD, says officers attended the scene after receiving a call from staff at the Patricia Hotel who were “concerned for their safety after a man entered the hotel and began to act aggressively.”
“The man was not a guest but was known to staff from a previous violent incident,” said Robillard.
When officers arrived, they encountered the man, “who was acting aggressively and appeared to be under the influence of drugs.”
The man allegedly “lunged at one of the officers and attempted to punch him.”
The officer was not harmed and then used his Taser on the man. According to Robillard, “the Taser had little effect.”
The officer then called for back-up as the man still refused to comply with police demands. As additional officers arrived, the man “laid down on the sidewalk and refused to listen to verbal direction from police.”
Robillard says the man was given “several” verbal warnings that a beanbag gun would be used if he refused to comply. Officers proceeded to strike the man’s leg with several beanbag rounds.
This “proved enough distraction to allow the officers to move in and arrest him.”
It is anticipated the man will face charges related to assaulting a police officer.
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