Yao Wei Wu “disappointed and angry” after Vancouver cops cleared by Delta police

A man who claims he was beaten by two Vancouver police officers in a case of mistaken identity says he plans to take further legal action after Delta police concluded his allegations of misconduct were “unsubstantiated”.

In a statement today (November 3), Yao Wei Wu said he and his family feel “extremely disappointed and angry” about the Delta Police Department’s investigation of the incident.

“I was beaten by the police for no reason at the door of my home in the morning on January 21 this year. The matter was investigated for over 9 months, and the investigation report says that the police had reason to beat me, that I was beaten by the police because I resisted arrest and failed to co-operate, and that I fell and injured my eye,” Wu said, according to a Chinese translation of his statement.

“This is absolutely a distortion of the facts!” he added.

Today, Delta police Chief Constable Jim Cessford said in a statement that his department’s investigation found that the two Vancouver officers were “acting in the course of their duties and in good faith” and the “force used was reasonable under the circumstances”.

Constables Nicholas Florkow and Bryan London were responding to a 911 call about a domestic assault when they ended up at Wu’s home.

A summary of the incident from Delta police states: “It is clear that Mr. Wu and the constables viewed the confrontation from contrasting but equally valid perspectives. Mr. Wu reacted to the officers by aggressively trying to protect his home, family and himself. While the officers believed that they were faced with the domestic violence suspect or, at least an assaultive person. Mr. Wu was taken into custody and handcuffed. In all likelihood these factors contributed to a perfect storm of events that led to the unfortunate injury to Mr. Wu.”

In a statement today, Wu’s lawyer, Cameron Ward, called the Delta police investigation a “farce”.

The Vancouver Police also issued a statement today, noting: “It was unfortunate that our officers had the wrong address and also that Mr. Wu, as we now have learned, saw the officers’ badges but unfortunately felt that he had to resist them.”

In March, Wu filed a lawsuit against the two officers, the City of Vancouver, and the Corporation of Delta.

You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui.

Comments

7 Comments

This is crap

Nov 3, 2010 at 6:13pm

The police should never use force until they are sure of the situation. This is a case of the police acting before thinking, something that happens far to often.

The police need better training and should focus on conflict resolution skills that don't involve using force.

Concerned Group 1

Nov 3, 2010 at 10:56pm

Statement by The Concerned Group on the Beating of Mr. Yao-wei Wu (part 1)

We are extremely disappointed with the result of the investigation.

A simple investigation on an assault by police, that according to Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu would take weeks to complete, has in fact dragged on for 9 months.

In hindsight, judging from the bizarre result of the investigation, we wonder if the two investigation extensions were parts of a stall tactic to cool off public concerns on this case.

It is unfortunate that this report has raised more questions instead of answering the question at the heart of the matter: did the police officers assault Mr. Yao-wei Wu?

The following are several statements given by Constable Florkow, whom the investigators believed instead of Mr. Wu’s testimony:

“Constable Florkow stated that he showed Mr. Wu his identification and loudly spoke that he was “Vancouver Police” investigating “a domestic disturbance.” Mr. Wu opened the door several inches. He asked Mr. Wu to open the door to allow police entrance. Constable Florkow heard Mr. Wu say; “No.” As a result, Constable Florkow put his foot inside the door so that Mr. Wu could not close the door completely and possibly barricade himself inside the house.

“Constable Florkow stated that Mr. Wu shoved him in the chest with both hands and grabbed Florkow by the shoulders to take him down to the ground. At this time, Constable London stepped in. Constable London grabbed Mr. Wu and forced him to the ground outside of the front door. The left side of Mr. Wu’s face struck the concrete sidewalk when he was taken to the ground.

“Constable Florkow told Mr. Wu that he was under arrest. He then directed Mr. Wu to lie on his stomach and place his hands behind his back. Mr. Wu resisted by rising to his feet and swung his arms. Constable Florkow tried to gain control of Mr. Wu who pulled away. Constable Florkow gave three close-handed strikes to Mr. Wu’s upper shoulder without apparent affect. Constable Florkow then gave two close-handed strikes to the meaty portion of Mr. Wu’s upper back which assisted the two officers to gain control of Mr. Wu. Throughout the struggle Constable Florkow loudly spoke verbal commands to Mr. Wu.”

We, the concerned group truly find this testimony hard to believe.

Concerned Group 2

Nov 3, 2010 at 10:58pm

Statement by The Concerned Group of the Wu Beating Case (part 2)

First, the headline of The Province newspaper on Jan 23 reads: “Vancouver police now say innocent man beaten by cops didn’t resist arrest”. In the news story, Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu was quoted, “It was premature in a media release to say the individual was resisting arrest and that’s a statement we’re not standing by”. Now, both the Vancouver Police and Delta Police have overturned Jim Chu’s statement made on Jan 22.

Second, if we think about what the police said, it simply does not make sense. It was in the middle of the night when Mr. Wu was awakened by police at the door. He went down the stairs, turned on the light, and heard the police identify themselves. Mr. Wu saw their badges through the peephole and opened the door.

Then, according to the police, once Mr. Wu opened the door, he assaulted the police. Does that really make sense to you?

Mr. Wu opened the door because he knew it was police. But once he opened the door, he attacked the police because he wanted to protect himself and his family? Mr. Wu can speak simple English and he certainly understands what “police” means.

According to Mr. Wu’s medical record, it was his orbital bone close to but protected by the nose that was hit and fractured. A fall onto a flat concrete surface cannot inflict such an injury.

In addition, Florkow testified that he gave three close-handed strikes to Mr. Wu’s upper shoulder and then another two close-handed strikes to the meaty portion of Mr. Wu’s upper back. So how come Mr. Wu’s leg and thigh were injured too?

The more intriguing question is how could Delta Police investigators believe such testimony that truly challenges common sense?

It is unfortunate that the Wu case has again cast a dark cloud over our police-investigating-police system.

The Wu case once again undermined public trust on our police.

Given the high profile, huge media coverage, and the Vancouver Police Chief’s apology on this case, and yet have the investigation ended up with Mr. Wu being accused of resisting arrest and having assaulted the police, what does that illustrate and say to us?

The concerned group has totally lost faith in the current police-investigating-police system and calls for the government to bring in a truly independent system. Only that can restore the faith of the general public in our police.

Members of the Concerned Group:
Bill Chu, Gabriel Yiu, Thekla Lit, Tommy Tao, Chak Au and Thomas Lou

Evil Eye

Nov 3, 2010 at 11:14pm

A bloody whitewash!

Cessford should be investigated!

Keep it Real

Nov 4, 2010 at 1:16pm

The law says that a police officer's actions must be judged based on what he believed to be true at the time, provided that his belief is reasonable in the cricumstances (i.e., supported by objective facts). A police officer's actions are not judged based on 20/20 hindsight. In this case that is what the investigation found. That all of the facts taken together (911 call and Wu's own actions at the door) contributed to the officers' reasonable belief that they ahd the right person and that this person had assualted a woman in the house and neede to be arrested to protect the woman.

Obivous

Nov 4, 2010 at 9:28pm

They say he fell and injured his eye. How fail can the vancouver police be?

Sandra Todosychuk

Nov 6, 2010 at 10:02am

My thoughts this morning are about Mr. Wu who claims that he was attacked and beaten by police who apparently went to the wrong door of a Multi- suite home. I listened while his lawyer called down Canada /Canadian Law and especially the Police. They gave Mr. Wu directions that he didn't understand. ... Why?? Because he is a Canadian Immigrant that doesn't understand .. and apparently doesn't speak English. Now, the point of this post is this ... isn't there some kind of rule that states that ALL Canadian Immigrants are supposed to prove that they speak English before they can apply to become Canadian? How is it that Immigrants can Pledge Allegiance to Canada when they don't have the faintest idea what they are saying.. and obviously from Mr. Wu's letter, he has no respect for the country that adopted him.