No charges laid against Vancouver police officer involved in violent arrest

A Vancouver police officer involved in the violent arrest of a man suspected of trying to steal a catalytic converter will not be charged.

According to the B.C. Prosecution Service, there is not enough evidence in the case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer committed a crime during the September 2020 arrest.

A summary of the prosecution service’s decision states police were called to a residential neighbourhood at 2:30 a.m. with a report that a person was underneath a vehicle parked on the street and acting suspiciously.

Several Vancouver Police Department officers arrived at the scene and found a man under a car trying to remove a catalytic converter (which would be sold for scrap metal).

One of the officers, who was working with a police dog, took charge of the arrest and told the suspect he was under arrest. The suspect then fled on a bicycle and was subsequently chased by the police dog — which bit the suspect, bringing him to the ground.