Video of a May 9 arrest has circulated through social media.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Kelowna Alert
May 10, 2021 - 1:00 PM
Video of a Kelowna Mountie arresting a suspected car thief this weekend has circulated through social media racking up comments about its apparent violence, and Mounties now say the actions of their officers will be reviewed.
“We are aware of witness video of this arrest,” Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy of the Kelowna RCMP said in a press release. “This file, and the actions of our officers, will be thoroughly reviewed through our internal processes. We ask anyone who was a witness to this matter, or who has surveillance or video footage, to contact us immediately.”
In the video, the RCMP asks a man to put his hands on top of his head, repeatedly, while he's bent over the back of a tow truck. The man appears to be punched several times throughout the interaction before the RCMP officer takes him to the ground and the video ends.
Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy said the man was allegedly in possession of a stolen vehicle on Saturday evening. On May 7, a Pontiac car was reported stolen from the impound lot of a tow company in Kelowna. Then, on May 9, just after 12:30 a.m., a tow truck driver reported that he located the stolen vehicle near the intersection of Gaston Avenue and Ellis Street in Kelowna.
"A frontline officer of the Kelowna RCMP attended and located a man inside the vehicle. The man exited the car and was told he was under arrest by the officer," Noseworthy said.
"The man was uncooperative with the officer, actively resisted arrest, and refused to show the officer his hands while clenching his hands in the front at his waistband. In order to take the man into custody, assistance was required from several backup officers."
Subsequent to arrest, the suspect received precautionary medical treatment before being discharged and subsequently held in custody in Kelowna Detachment. He has since been released from police custody on conditions for a future court date.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Kathy Michaels or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2021