B.C. RCMP officer investigated after violent arrest caught on tape
WARNING: Graphic violence appears in May 2014 video showing arrest of man in Terrace, B.C.
A Terrace RCMP officer is under investigation after a violent arrest was caught on tape and given to a local newspaper.
The video — captured last May — shows an unnamed officer punching a young man in the head as he lies on the ground and is handcuffed.
The young, unidentified man is hit as he appears to be restrained on the ground.
As the violence unfolds, a woman flees the scene and is brought back by another officer. Later, the young man is seen being pushed into an RCMP truck.
The video was shown to Terrace RCMP Insp. Dana Hart and has sparked two separate investigations: an RCMP code of conduct review and a probe by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.
"We asserted jurisdiction of the matter and are currently investigating the incident to determine whether an officer may have committed an offence," said the investigations office's Ralph Krenz in an interview with CBC on Thursday.
An unidentified woman dropped the video off at the Terrace Standard newspaper, according to the publisher.
The violent arrest took place after RCMP were called to deal with a fight between a young man and woman.
"We want this event to be properly investigated," Hart told the Terrace Standard.
The Terrace RCMP officer involved in the incident has been placed on administrative desk duty while the investigations are completed.
The Independent Investigations Office said its probe should take a couple months.
Today’s video comes on the heels of another controversial video about police activity in Terrace.
Last week, in an unrelated event, CBC News obtained a Terrace jail cell video from April 2012 showing Rob Wright taken into custody for drunk driving.
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Wright, who was combative while being taken into custody, appeared to be still when he was suddenly thrown to the floor by then Terrace officer Const. Brian Heideman.
Heideman has since been shifted to another detachment.
The constable faced discipline for involvement with steroids in an unrelated case. The RCMP has denied any wrongdoing by Heideman.
With files from the CBC's Eric Rankin