An investigation into the conduct of Coquitlam RCMP officers during an arrest in 2016 of two senior citizens that was caught on video has concluded with no charges being laid.
Footage of the incident, which occurred following a contentious strata council meeting at the Best Western on North Road, showed a Mountie dragging a man down a flight of stairs as he apparently resisted arrest. Another officer is seen attempting to handcuff an elderly woman as a child screams and holds on to her leg.
The BC RCMP asked the New Westminster Police Department to conduct an external investigation after a nine-minute clip of the arrest shot by Victor Kim was posted to YouTube, garnering more than 170,000 views.
"Our Major Crime Unit was assigned the investigation, which resulted in no charges for either the RCMP officers or the elderly couple," said NWPD Sgt. Jeff Scott. "This was a very thorough investigation that was conducted by several detectives of our Major Crime Unit, including consultation with Crown counsel."
Coquitlam RCMP did not say whether an internal code of conduct investigation had taken place and have not responded to The Tri-City News' requests for comment.
Scott said he is unaware of any discipline to the officers that may have resulted from the arrests.
"We were only investigating any criminal element," he said.
At the time of the incident, RCMP Supt. Sean Maloney said in a statement that he understood the public concern the video may cause. He added that he would be reviewing the officers' actions.
"This review will also include looking further into the reasons behind our attendance," he said in a statement.
Police were called to the scene at around 10:30 p.m. Oct. 27, 2016, after receiving reports that fights were breaking out at a strata annual general meeting being held at the hotel. The meeting ended when the officers showed up but the elderly man and woman refused to leave, according to Maloney's statement at the time. After their arrest, the pair were assessed by BC Ambulance paramedics.
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
