The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) has cleared Vancouver police officers of any wrongdoing in the arrest of an intoxicated man last summer who suffered a broken orbital bone while resisting attempts to be placed in a wagon and driven home.
Ronald MacDonald, the IIO’s chief civilian director, released a report Thursday in which he concluded that the officers’ use of force in the arrest July 29, 2021 on Broadway was not unreasonable considering the circumstances.
“I do not consider that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an officer may have committed an offence under any enactment and therefore the matter will not be referred to Crown counsel for consideration of charges,” MacDonald said.
The incident stemmed from a call police received of a man walking in traffic on Broadway, where he narrowly escaped being hit by a dump truck. Before police arrived, a transit security officer told the man he was endangering himself and others by his behaviour.
“[The man] replied that he did not care,” the report said.
The security officer told IIO investigators the man was “babbling and incoherent” and said he had people following him. The security officer’s co-worker also heard the man say something about being deported and that he didn’t care if he died.
Three Vancouver police officers arrived on scene at 2:14 a.m. to find the man sitting on a sidewalk curb. The man told an officer that he was fine and was walking around as he waited for a morning meeting with the Canada Border Services Agency.
Both officers smelled alcohol on the man’s breath and said he was slurring his words. Police learned the man had earlier dealings in the evening with officers for incidents, including walking in roadways.
Intoxicated in a public place
The officers offered the man the option of getting a ride home, or to be arrested for being intoxicated in a public place. The man accepted the option of a ride home, which led to officers to call for a transport van to the scene.
But after the man looked inside the van, he said the compartment was small and he felt panicked. He believed police were taking him to jail, even though officers assured him they were not, the report said.
The man then said he no longer wanted a ride home, so police arrested him for breach of the peace. That caused the man to “explode in anger” and lunge at one of the officers. One officer tried a “joint lock technique” on the man’s wrist, which failed.
The man stomped on one of the officer’s feet, which caused the officer to lose balance. Then the man took a swing at an officer, according to the report, which said four officers at one point attempted to get the man in handcuffs.
“At one point, [an officer] used his forearm to push [the man’s] face away, which resulted in [the man] attempting to bite [the officer],” the report said.
“[Another officer] saw [the man] attempt to gouge out [an officer’s] eyes and saw [the officer] respond by punching [the man] in the face, while [the man] continued to thrash on the ground. After approximately 15 seconds, the officers were able to get handcuffs on [the man] and take him into custody.”
Ambulance could not arrive for two hours
Police called for an ambulance to attend, “but due to a backlog of cases, they could not arrive for two hours,” said the report, noting police instead transported the man to the hospital, where he required surgery to repair a broken orbital bone.
“Despite the officers’ best efforts to get [the man] home safely without the need to arrest him, they were justified in taking him into custody: it would been dangerous to leave him out in public the way he was acting,” MacDonald wrote.
“Initially, police officers were trying to assist [the man] to get home so he would no longer be endangering himself or others. However, during their interactions, and inexplicably [the man] went from being cooperative with officers to resistant and assaultive. This occurred in a very brief period.”
MacDonald continued: “As a result, it became necessary for the officers to try to control [the man] quickly, and [an officer] did that by taking his legs out from under him and taking him to the ground. This is consistent with police practice, as it is easier and safer to handcuff resistant individuals when they are on the ground.”
Downtown Eastside arrests this week
Meanwhile, in a separate incident Tuesday outside the Carnegie Centre at Main and Hastings, various community groups have criticized police for the arrests that occurred during a melee ignited by the arrest of a man who police say was acting erratically and throwing computers.
The IIO told Vancouver Is Awesome Friday that it is not investigating the incident.
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner also said Friday it has not received any complaints related to the incident, which was captured on video by various people, who posted the footage on social media.
Video clips and photographs on Twitter show police grabbing people, knocking them to the ground and forcefully pushing others away from the chaotic scene outside the community centre.
“We are generally aware of the media and social media reporting/footage about this incident,” said Andrea Spindler, deputy police complaint commissioner, in an email Friday.
“I have checked in with our intake team here, and at this time we have not received any registered complaints about the conduct of VPD officers following any arrests. Should we receive any complaints, then we would review those and if admissible, we would direct an investigation into any allegations of police misconduct.”
'Officers were just doing their jobs'
Sgt. Steve Addison, a VPD media relations officer, issued a news release Thursday that said a woman was charged for assaulting a police officer at Main and Hastings and that several other people are under criminal investigation.
Alene West, 44, was charged with assault with a weapon after an officer was struck in the head with an object, said Addison, noting West has since been released from custody.
“These officers were just doing their jobs – fulfilling their duty to protect the public and apprehend a violent offender,” Addison said.
“The Carnegie Centre is a gathering place for low-income and marginalized community members, and when our officers were called to help, they were surrounded by people who threw objects at them, bit them, punched them in the face, and tried to prevent them from making a lawful arrest.”
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