Warning: This story has video that could be disturbing to some viewers.
The ways of Metro Vancouver Transit Police are beneath scrutiny after movies surfaced on-line displaying a woman being Tasered repeatedly during an arrest Thursday afternoon.
“Please let me put my shirt back on,” the woman may be heard saying in a single video that was posted to Twitter.
With her shirt pulled over her head, her purple bra is the one factor protecting her torso as two officers restrain her on the bottom of the Granville SkyTrain Station in downtown Vancouver.
Authorities mentioned the officers concerned have been responding to a number of reviews {that a} woman was struggling an obvious psychological well being disaster on the busy transit station at round 4:30 p.m.
In a press release, Metro Vancouver Transit Police informed CTV News a few of the callers alleged the woman was “chasing different passengers, screaming incoherently and eradicating her clothes.”
“Officers tried to defuse the state of affairs verbally, utilizing a number of de-escalation methods to assist her, which have been ineffective,” the assertion continued.
“Concerned for her security and the protection of different transit customers, they needed to bodily achieve management of the woman to additional assess her wellbeing and mitigate potential threat to her and the general public.”
One witness who captured a part of the incident on video disputed that model of occasions. Faisul Jufar mentioned police “instantly tackled (the woman) to the bottom” once they arrived.
“I used to be shocked. There was no verbal dialog previous to approaching her to settle her down after which they used their electrical gun and zapped her,” Jufar mentioned in a message to CTV News.
From what he witnessed, Jufar mentioned the woman was “clearly mentally unwell however wasn’t harming anybody.”
In one other video of the arrest that was shared on TikTok, the woman may be heard yelling, “Please, I’m not hitting them, I’m not resisting,” as she is being Tasered.
So far, no video has emerged displaying the whole thing of the officers’ communication with the woman. Metro Vancouver Transit Police alleged she “tried to seize the officers’ weapon” at one level, which justified the officers’ use of knee strikes and the Taser.
“Both strategies are accredited for police officers in sure circumstances the place a suspect is actively resisting and displaying assaultive behaviour,” the power mentioned in its assertion.
The woman was apprehended beneath the Mental Health Act and brought to hospital, authorities mentioned.
Since the disturbing movies have been revealed on-line, there have been rising requires accountability for the 2 officers concerned within the arrest.
(*2*) Vancouver resident Vic Ritchie informed CTV News in an electronic mail. “I am a woman who cannot help but feel less safe on the streets knowing that the police officers hired to ‘protect citizens’ are now publicly known to beat and (Taser) women, who are not even refusing arrests.”
Const. Amanda Steed of the MVTP confirmed B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has been notified of the incident.
“Any incident that involves use of force (is) subject to a full internal review as standard practice,” she mentioned in an electronic mail.
With recordsdata from CTV News Vancouver’s Michele Brunoro