B.C.'s police complaint commissioner has called a public hearing for two Abbotsford Police officers in relation to a January 2024 incident that ended with serious injuries to an unhoused Indigenous man.
In a press release issued on Tuesday (Aug. 26), the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) stated that the incident in question occurred on the evening of Jan. 23, 2024.
The OPCC said the man was walking with a shopping cart and carrying a large stick in an area of Abbotsford close to shelters and outreach services.
The OPCC said the officers 鈥� Const. John Leivdal and Const. Meghan Hamel 鈥� reported they had stopped the man for jaywalking and directed him to drop the stick. They said the man refused to drop the stick and they heard him say the officers were going to kill him, the OPCC said.
"The incident escalated and one of the officers quickly deployed (pepper spray) to the man鈥檚 face, drew his pistol on him, punched him multiple times in his face, and push-kicked him," the release states.
The officers reported that the man punched one of them in the shoulder. After a foot pursuit, the man stopped and police confronted him.
"They used substantial force to subdue and arrest him, including punches, elbow and knee strikes to the head, face and elsewhere, and two contact
cycles of a (stun gun)," the OPCC release states.
The OPCC says the man suffered "significant injury" to his face and head, and was transported to hospital. Some of the use of force was captured on CCTV footage.
Criminal charges were filed by police against the man but were later stayed by the B.C. Prosecution Service.
According to the "notice of public hearing," the OPCC ordered in August 2024 that an external investigator and an external discipline authority look into the conduct of the two officers and two additional officers who had been called to the scene.
The documents state that the investigator interviewed the officers and a civilian witness, but the unhoused man did not want to talk and said he did not recall the incident.
The final report was released on July 28 of this year, concluding that "the evidence did not support any findings of misconduct."
"According to the external (discipline authority), all the force used was proportionate, necessary, and reasonable in the circumstances," the OPCC stated in the notice of public hearing.
"The external DA further found that all the APD officers had fulfilled their duties to make accurate notes based on their subjective perceptions and recollections of a rapidly unfolding incident."
However, despite the investigation's conclusion, the police complaints commissioner has the authority to conduct a further review of the matter if he/she believes it is necessary in the public interest.
Police complaint commissioner Prabhu Rajan has now called a public hearing into the matter.
鈥淭o preserve public confidence in policing, there needs to be full accounting of why the members rapidly used substantial force options rather than stepping back and trying to calm and de-escalate the situation,鈥� he said.
鈥淭heir initial interaction with a marginalized and apparently fearful person quickly escalated in ways that seem excessive, considering that the reason for the stop was a minor traffic matter ... These issues need to be examined in the context of historical and current concerns regarding police treatment of, and use of force on, Indigenous peoples.鈥�
David Pendleton, a former B.C. provincial court judge, has been appointed as adjudicator in the proceedings.
A date for the public hearing, which will be open to the public, has not yet been set. The proceedings will include hearing from witnesses and will determine whether the officers committed misconduct.
