Police Chief Jim Chu has come to the defence of one of his officers who was captured on video last November breaking the window of a motorist’s vehicle during an arrest.
Chu issued a written statement Tuesday after the National Post published an opinion piece Monday by Marni Soupcoff titled “Cops run amok” that criticized the officer’s actions. Soupcoff is the executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation.
“This was not a traffic stop, it was a drug arrest,” Chu wrote. “Impaired driving alerted the officer to the danger the driver posed to public safety and marijuana smoke billowing from the car made the cause of that impairment obvious. In order to make the arrest, force became necessary when the person refused to exit the vehicle, which is understandable since he allegedly knew what would be found in his car if he did.”
The article is posted on the Post’s website with a video of the incident that was taken by the driver, who was repeatedly told by the officer to open his door and that he smelled marijuana.
The driver refused, saying the police didn’t smell marijuana in his vehicle. The driver also told the officer he didn’t have his consent to break the window and that he wanted to call his lawyer.
The video captures the window being smashed and officers telling the driver he is under arrest. The driver says something undecipherable about being “exempted” and complains that officers are hurting his shoulder during the arrest.
“What makes the video alarming is the police mindset it conveys: The sergeant’s words and actions all seem to betray a casual conviction that the person he has stopped should be expected to do exactly what the sergeant wants exactly when he wants it, legal rights and even basic considerations of civility be damned,” Soupcoff wrote. “Don’t listen to a police officer and give him absolute deference? Then expect your property to be destroyed.”
Soupcoff ended her article by writing that “perhaps the Vancouver police force has forgotten that to do its job effectively and well, it needs the trust and respect of the citizens it is policing. At this juncture, I’m starting to wonder if the only way it can be reminded of that truth is to be told so by a court of law.”
Chu said the officer “acted proactively” when he saw the car weaving that could “at any minute strike another car or pedestrian causing injury or worse.”
The chief said the video shows the driver was evasive and lying about not having drugs in the car. There was enough marijuana in the car for Crown counsel to approve a charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
“While it was necessary to use some force to extract the driver, it is also important to remember that no one was injured and no complaint was made,” Chu said. “Patrol officers know that every arrest they make and practically every move they make will be scrutinized, analyzed and occasionally criticized. Through it all, they routinely prove that preserving life and public safety trumps whatever slings and arrows they may endure.”
Added Chu: “It would be ideal if force of any kind was never necessary to make an arrest. But for those who are trying desperately to avoid apprehension, it is not always the option they choose.”
mhowell@vancourier.com
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