A social media video capturing the moment a Vancouver police officer beats a man calls for more training for police who make mental health calls.
It happened Saturday near the Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Police Department said someone called 911 about a suicidal man who was acting erratically and endangering himself.
Jessica Wetzstein posted parts of the incident on social media. In his videos, you can hear the shocked slap that the man receives the Taser.
“Why did they do it? He couldn’t resist in any way,” you can hear.
The video shows six police officers standing in a semicircle around the man and, without warning, a woman unloading the Taser.
“This man is clearly having a mental health episode. He’s been sitting here screaming,” Wetzstein said.
The VPD confirmed that the man was having a mental health crisis and when officers asked him to go to the hospital for a psychological assessment, he refused.
“It’s terrifying to think he’s the one who’s going to face a mental health crisis,” said Sarah Blyth, a Downtown Eastside advocate. “Who would ask for help in a suicide call if that’s the help that came?”
“I’ve seen compassion come from the police a lot of times, but I’ve also seen the police deal with things that create a much worse situation than was necessary,” he said.
In an email, the sgt. Steve Addison said police have the authority to arrest anyone they believe is a danger to them or others and should take that person to a doctor for evaluation. He added that they are also allowed to use as much force as necessary while performing their duties.
“Power-driven weapons are carried by specially trained VPD officers and are used to prevent bodily harm to the police and the public. They can also be used to prevent a person from self-harm,” the sergeant said. Addison wrote.
But Rob Gordon, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University, said there were reasons to consider using a Taser in this situation.
“From the limited images I saw this afternoon and my involvement in national and provincial reviews following the Braidwood investigation, I suspect there is enough doubt to justify an investigation into the conduct of the officers with respect to their decision to use a power-driven weapon, “he told CTV News.
Questions are also being raised about the conduct of officers after the man was attacked with a Taser.
Minutes after the incident, while some of the officers were attending to the man, an officer punched the police who unloaded the power-driven weapon.
When asked why this happened, sgt. Addison wrote: “(No) it would be appropriate to speculate without a full context, but it is common for police officers to use nonverbal cues to check each other during dynamic, high-stress situations. It is sometimes called friend. -check. “
Blyth said the punch was very inappropriate.
“I can’t imagine any context in which a person is happy to make a person commit suicide. It’s completely outrageous,” he said.
Police said the man was taken to hospital for a mental health assessment.
He was also searched with two orders and arrested.