Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2021
File: 21-37601
Victoria, BC – An Integrated Canine Service (ICS) officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries after being head-butted during an arrest early this morning.
Shortly after 2 a.m. this morning VicPD officers were called to the parking lot of a multi-unit temporary housing facility in the 3000-block of Douglas Street for a report of a man kicking the building and smashing glass bottles on the ground. The suspect then left the area. Officers responded to the area and located the suspect in the 2800-block of Douglas Street. However, the suspect fled on bicycle. He was located a short time later in the 500-block of Ellice Street and again fled on a bicycle.
An ICS officer eventually located and arrested the suspect in the 2900-block of Jutland Road after a foot pursuit and a struggle on the ground. The suspect resisted arrest and additional officers were required to take him into custody.
Officers then searched the man near the police vehicle. During the search, the suspect head-butted the ICS officer, causing non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect then spat toward another officer, narrowly missing, while yelling that he was infected with the COVID-19 virus.
The suspect was transported to cells at VicPD where he was later released with a court date. He will face recommended charges of obstructing a peace officer and assaulting a peace officer.
In British Columbia, the decision to release a person is based on the likelihood they will attend court, the risk posed to public safety, and the impact on confidence in the criminal justice system. In addition, Bill C-75, which came into effect nationally in 2019, has legislated a “principle of restraint” that requires police to release an accused person at the earliest possible opportunity after considering these factors. This is founded in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that every person has the right to liberty and the presumption of innocence pre-trial. Police are also asked to consider the circumstances of Indigenous or vulnerable person in the process, in order to address the disproportionate impacts that the criminal justice system has on these populations.
This file remains under investigation.
If you have information about this incident, please call our non-emergency line at (250) 995-7654. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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