Vancouver cyclist claims police assault without reason (video)

by Travis Lupick on March 28th, 2013 at 8:58 AM

1 of 1 2 of 1

A 28-year-old cyclist has alleged that a Vancouver Police Department officer punched him without reason.

The incident, which occurred at the intersection of Robson and Beatty on Tuesday (March 26), was recorded and uploaded to Facebook and YouTube, where it was quickly shared by thousands of people.

The Yaletown resident, Andishae Akhavan, appears in the video being handcuffed by two members of the VPD. One of the officers can be seen striking Akhavan in the head. Akhavan was later treated for a cut lip by Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services.

The video was recorded by Mike Schwarz, a friend of Akhavan’s and the founder of Club Zone, a Vancouver-based nightlife guide.

According to Schwarz’s description of the video on Facebook, Akhavan was “riding his bike home (sober) 3 blocks in Yaletown late last night without a helmet or light on. He went through a red light at the bottom of Robson and Beatty as there was NO traffic there at all (3 way intersection in front of the Terry Fox Memorial). These cops pull him over, and this is what they do to him.”

VPD spokesperson Sergeant Randy Fincham told media that the officer involved in the incident reported it to his supervisor, and that the confrontation was also reported to the VPD Professional Standards Section, which will notify the B.C. Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner.

According to Fincham, the officer is now on weekly leave.

Comments

23 Comments

Innocent Bystander

Mar 28, 2013 at 9:21am

On leave with pay... VPD setting another great example...

M Leblanc

Mar 28, 2013 at 9:45am

My goodness

How surprising

And how does one arrest a Canadian for neglecting to wear a helmet

Love to to see how these officers function out of the public eye

James Inglis

Mar 28, 2013 at 9:45am

Now the police union is claiming officer safety to justify the officer's actions. The police union does their members no favours when it makes ridiculous comments. While there may indeed be things we don't see on the video, what we do see is no attempt by the officer to deescalate the situation before he punches the cyclist. Clearly the cyclist was acting inappropriately by mouthing off and not immediately submitting to being handcuffed, but to suggest that violence is the first official response to a mildly uncooperative person is more than a little concerning.

Mathew Kagis

Mar 28, 2013 at 9:48am

I remember the cop in that video. During Occupy Vancouver he asked me if I had any ACTUAL medic training. *headdesk*

buddhabitch

Mar 28, 2013 at 10:23am

thank god the Police were there to protect us, the law-abiding citizens of a crime-ridden city, from this sadistic and clearly evil cyclist who was just out there threatening public safety however he jolly well pleases with his tiny carbon footprint pointed carelessly at innocent bystanders and all. Yaletown is simply crawling with these dangerous freaks, and i hope this conscientious police officer's kind actions, which clearly have our safety in mind, have rid us of the last of these infectious varmin.

someone could have been cycled by! what is this, South Central LA? there are families and young children living in Yaletown, and the streets should be safe for them to wander around at 10:30 pm if they so choose without worrying about becoming the victim of another random cycle-by.

Nasty VPD

Mar 28, 2013 at 10:36am

VPD are all idiots. That idiot should be charged with assault.

Mike Lecounte

Mar 28, 2013 at 12:00pm

This looks terrible. Nobody should be treated like that by the police or anyone else. But before everyone passes judgement on this cop, keep in mind that the video images only show the cyclist being handcuffed and punched and what happened immediately after. What the video images do not show is what happened leading up to the incident. Consider the entire incident in context.

Greg Robinson

Mar 28, 2013 at 12:16pm

How depressing it is to know that this cop won't be fired. I'll be he barely gets a slap on the wrist.

Also, some guy named Stephen Hand commented on the Straight's Facebook page that he'd "like to punch a sampling of Vancouver cyclists." So I messaged him and told him that I was a Vancouver cyclist and would let him punch me, no strings attached, no retalliation. So if anyone out there knows Stephen, tell him I'm waiting anxiously for his reply.