Man who yelled racial slurs at Surrey vigil for Christchurch shootings injured during arrest

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      In the wake of the shooting at two Christchurch mosques in New Zealand on March 15, several vigils were held across Metro Vancouver this past weekend.

      However, at one such Lower Mainland event, a man who attempted to disrupt the proceedings wound up being injured as police arrested him.

      At 4:30 p.m. on March 17, RCMP officers were attending a prayer vigil held at Surrey City Hall’s civic plaza in the 13400 block of 104 Avenue.

      According to B.C. RCMP, the man began "acting suspiciously" and allegedly yelled racial slurs and began taking photographs of police vehicles and the crowd.

      He was arrested for breach of the peace.

      However, when officers were trying to take him into custody, he was injured as, according to the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia (IIO), he was taken to the ground. He was subsequently taken to hospital. The IIO stated that he required surgery for his non-life-threatening injuries. His name has not yet been released and he is scheduled to appear in court at a later date.

      RCMP notified the IIO, the independent civilian oversight agency of the police which investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, to determine whether police action or inaction is related to the man’s injuries.

      Anyone who witnessed the incident to contact the IIO at 1-855-446-8477.

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      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at @cinecraig or on Facebook

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