December 13, 2013 - 12:32 PM
VANCOUVER - B.C.'s police watchdog has concluded that a transit officer lied several times about a confrontation involving a mentally ill man who was beaten and jolted with a Taser.
In a report, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner says Const. Ken Jansen of the South Coast B.C. Transportation Authority made false and misleading oral and written statements after the man was subdued at a Surrey hospital in April 2010.
Jansen wasn't on duty that night, but was waiting for RCMP Const. Mitch Spears, who had arrested a man under the Mental Health Act and was about to hand him over to hospital staff.
The report says that when the mentally ill man began punching the Mountie, Jansen jumped in to help overpower the patient and that's when a Taser was used on the man, who was placed on the floor in handcuffs.
After an investigation by police, Jansen was accused of abuse of authority, discreditable conduct and deceit for using unnecessary force and then lying about it later to investigators.
Adjudicator Carole Lazar determined that the accusations of discreditable conduct and abuse of authority were unsubstantiated, but she ruled there was enough evidence to find the officer made false or misleading statements about the confrontation.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013