SERVICE OR POLICY AGENDA ITEM #6.2

VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT

REPORT TO THE POLICE BOARD

REPORT DATE: March 27, 2020 COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: April 16, 2020 BOARD REPORT # 2001C04 Regular

TO: Vancouver Police Board Service and Policy Complaint Review Committee

FROM: Staff Sergeant Cameron Murdock, District 2, Operations Division

SUBJECT: Service or Policy Complaint #2020-006: Response to Oppenheimer Park Incident ______

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Vancouver Police Board Service and Policy Complaint Review Committee (Committee) concludes its review of the complaint based on the information outlined in this report.

SUMMARY:

Within the last eighteen months, the Committee reviewed three Service and Policy Complaints regarding Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officers being deployed with carbine rifles and each of those complaints were concluded after being reviewed by the Committee (see Committee reports #1812C02, #1910C05, and #2002C04).

The complainant stated that on February 15, 2020, she observed numerous police officers responding to a report of a fight in Oppenheimer Park. One officer who responded carried an “assault rifle” and another carried a “semiautomatic rifle”. A police vehicle pulled up in front of the field house, near the overdose prevention tent. The complainant observed 6-8 other officers standing with a handcuffed suspect – and many of these officers carried “assault rifles”.

The complainant believes that the level of response was inappropriate for the situation and that the incident was potentially traumatizing to residents of the park. Additionally, she believes that having so many officers in close vicinity to the overdose prevention tent was invasive as well as a potential privacy concern for those using the tent. The complainant recommends that officers be given trauma informed training and peer run homelessness cultural sensitivity training.

The amount of officers present and the specialized equipment they possessed as they were dispatched to the incident that was reported as a bleeding victim and a man armed with a knife. The call to the officers was of a violent crime, with a suspect armed with a weapon in the vicinity, and located in a high-risk area. The responding officers arrived within minutes and, while the incident was near the overdose tent, they were able to quickly investigate and resolve the matter. The officers then facilitated paramedic access to the injured person and did not impede access to the overdose prevention tent. The response was reasonable given the circumstances of the call that was dispatched to the officers.

Trauma-informed practice training has been provided to investigative sections within the VPD; however it would not have been applicable in this incident. The VPD has, and continues to provide training to officers on many topics that are applicable to the residents of the (DTES) and Vancouver’s diverse communities. Such training includes, but is not limited to, Crisis Intervention and De-escalation, Indigenous Cultural Competency, fair and impartial policing, people living with addiction and mental health challenges, and topics specific to the LGBTQ2S+ community.

The VPD recommends that the Committee concludes its review of this complaint based on the information outlined in this report.

BACKGROUND:

The call for service in this complaint was received via 9-1-1 at 17:43 hours on February 16, 2020. The caller was mumbling and the call-taker had difficulty making out many words – other than “bleeding” and “guy has a knife”. The dispatcher advised responding members that the caller was bleeding and Emergency Health Services (EHS) was needed. It was difficult to obtain additional information as the caller refused to answer the call-taker’s questions. A field supervisor and three 2-person police units responded with the first unit arriving on scene at 17:48 hours.

Of note, Oppenheimer Park has been the site of an encampment for over a year. There are many tents in the park, and it is difficult to not only see but navigate through the tents, material, and debris in the park. During the encampment, the VPD has responded to a significantly higher number of calls for service, including numerous violent crimes, incidents involving weapons, significant assaults, stabbings, shootings, and a homicide. There are regular seizures of weapons from the area within and around the park including knives, swords, baseball bats, handguns, shotguns, and semi-automatic weapons. VPD members have been subject to open hostility from those in the park and some officers have been assaulted.

In this particular case, the field supervisor ensured there were sufficient members responding to the incident to provide a safe response. Officers also responded with specialized equipment, including conductive energy weapons, a bean-bag shotgun, and a carbine rifle, as the information from the complainant indicated there was a weapon involved. There were numerous people in the park when officers first arrived. They quickly located the victim and the suspect and took the suspect into custody. They then facilitated paramedics to safely attend to the injuries of the victim.

The officers arrested the suspect close to the overdose prevention tent. Upon investigation, they determined that this was a consensual fight between two intoxicated males and that there was no weapon involved in the incident. The officers facilitated EHS attendance to the victim whose injury was determined to be minor. Once the paramedics were finished treating the victim, the officers released the suspect as the incident was consensual. At no time did the officers need to use their specialized equipment during this incident. Also, at no time did the officers prevent anyone from accessing the overdose prevention site.

DISCUSSION:

The BC Provincial Policing Standards sets the standards for the use of specialized firearms for all police departments in . These standards include carbine rifles, which have been issued to specially selected and trained patrol members for many years. These firearms are also commonly used by police departments across Canada. Their deployment enhances officers’

2 ability to deal with an armed suspect, from a safe distance, because it allows for greater accuracy from distance than other lethal options, such as a pistol. The use of the carbine serves to, during potentially deadly incidents, decrease the risk to innocent bystanders, the public, and the police, should an armed response be required.

VPD field supervisors overseeing an in-progress incident must consider whether the incident is volatile, whether a weapon is involved, if there is a risk of violent resistance to patrol officers, and whether specialized equipment is needed. The field supervisor is also responsible to ensure that there are sufficient responding members, depending on the circumstances of the incident and the information provided by the caller. As well, the field supervisor is responsible for ensuring that responding units have the appropriate tools with them, which includes the availability of less lethal options or a carbine rifle, where weapons may be indicated.

In this case, police responded to what was reported as a bleeding victim and with an armed suspect in the vicinity. The officers quickly arrested the suspect, investigated the incident, and facilitated paramedics attending to the victim’s injuries. The injuries were determined to be minor and both parties were allowed to proceed. Given the circumstances, with the scant information available to them about a reported violent incident, the response was entirely appropriate.

The complainant recommended that officers be given trauma-informed training and peer-run homelessness and cultural sensitivity training. The VPD was one of the first police departments in Canada to mandate Crisis Intervention and De-escalation training and officers are required to re-certify every three years. They have also received training on topics that are applicable to the residents of the DTES and to members of Vancouver’s diverse communities. This training, although not all-inclusive, includes Indigenous Cultural Competency, fair and impartial policing, those living with addiction and mental health challenges, and the LGBTQ2S+ community. Such training is robust and informs police actions in the community.

The use of trauma-informed practice training, which has been provided to VPD investigative sections, would not have been applicable in this incident as such training is for traumatized victims who struggle with providing information via cognitive interview techniques.

CONCLUSION:

The complainant was concerned about the presence of specialized equipment in Oppenheimer Park and with the officers’ proximity to the overdose prevention tent. Officers responded to an unknown threat, with a possible weapon, and did so with specialized equipment appropriate for the threat described in the incident. The responding officers arrived within minutes and, while the incident was near the overdose tent, they quickly investigated and resolve the matter. The officers then facilitated paramedic access to the injured person and did not impede access to the tent. The response was reasonable given the circumstances. The training that VPD officers receive greatly informs them on many topics relevant to the residents of the DTES and to Vancouver’s many diverse communities. As such, it is recommended that the Committee concludes its review of this complaint based on the information outlined in this report.

Author: S/Sgt. Cam Murdock Telephone: 604-717-3252 Date: March 27, 2020

Submitting Executive Member: DCC Howard Chow Date: April 2, 2020

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