The video of the violent arrest of two people in a pickup truck last month by the Prince George RCMP is shocking and disturbing.
The dark and silent security video footage sent to Global News in Vancouver shows a police dog pulling a man out of a truck and continuing to bite him even after he is down on the ground. Meanwhile, a police officer then steps over to hit the man multiple times in the head and upper body.
The passenger of the truck steps out of the vehicle and is met by three other officers. The passenger can't be seen, due to the angle of the camera, but the three police members can be seen making striking motions, suggesting kicking and stomping.
What's most upsetting about the video is that it's impossible to tell who the criminals are. If the video was shown to someone without any background, it could just as easily be portrayed as gang members applying some back alley justice to a couple of individuals who weren't doing as they were told.
In other words, this looks far more like a savage beating than it does a no-nonsense arrest by officers charged with keeping the peace.
An RCMP spokesman said Wednesday the footage is being reviewed "to ensure that our tactics and actions comply with training, policy, and member conduct expectations." Staff Sgt. Perry Smith said the incident occurred at about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18, as police spotted a truck that had been reported stolen the day before.
"The officers contained the suspects in an alley and converged to make arrests," Smith said. "The suspects failed to comply with police commands prompting police to use physical control and a police service dog to make the arrests. The suspects did not require medical attention and have been charged criminally."
With no audio, there is no way to independently confirm or reject Smith's version of the events. Smith's comments, however, don't seem to connect to the video itself. He speaks of "physical control" yet the video shows a man lying on the ground being elbowed in the head several times by one officer while other officers appear to be repeatedly kicking and stomping someone on the ground on the other side of the truck.
Since Smith made no mention of it and the two men are not facing weapons charges, that means they were unarmed and did not pretend to be armed. That makes the degree of "physical control" exercised by the officers look even worse.
Based on Smith's words, the only question RCMP have from the incident is whether protocol and policy was followed, not whether the officers used excessive force and should be suspended, pending a broader investigation into whether disciplinary action and possible criminal charges are warranted.
The police oversight agency in B.C., the Independent Investigations Office, isn't looking into the incident because they say they weren't notified of the incident. Even if they were, there is a compelling local example to show the kid gloves the IIO use when digging into possible police misconduct. During the coroner's inquest into the death of Greg Matters, it was revealed that the IIO didn't obtain a statement from Cpl. Collin Warwick, the officer who shot Matters, until 11 days afterwards. Even worse, the statement came in written form, not through a verbal interview. That kind of delay would never have been tolerated in the shooting death of a police officer, even if the suspect refused to speak without legal counsel present.
Innocent until proven guilty should apply to the conduct of police officers as much as it does to criminal suspects. With that in mind, a detailed probe into this matter, both internally by the RCMP and an external study by the IIO, should clear everything right up. If these officers were fulfilling their duty properly, then no harm can possibly come from independent investigations to confirm that premise.
In cases such as this, the RCMP needs to do everything it can to protect the integrity of the force and its members. The video poses numerous questions about police conduct and a full and transparent effort is needed to answer those questions, for the sake of the RCMP, its officers and the public they serve.
