A video showing a Vancouver police officer tasing a man in the downtown area has sparked concern about the use of force in mental health calls.
Jessica Wetzstein lives near Rogers Arena and captured multiple videos of an incident involving several VPD officers and a man who was experiencing a mental health crisis on Saturday (May 21). She told Vancouver Is Awesome that she heard yelling around 10 p.m. and saw three cop cars park outside shortly after.
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Vancouver Criminal Law Lawyer Kyla Lee echoed this sentiment and noted that police are trained to use verbal de-escalation tactics and less significant uses of force before any kind of weapon, including tasers.
“That would include physical restraint, putting a person on the ground, even some punching,” she explained, adding that the use of a taser without justification “can constitute not only a physical assault and a criminal act but also a violation of the police Code of Conduct and can result in discipline.”
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