WARNING: This story contains details that may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police are defending the actions of two officers filmed during an arrest at the Granville SkyTrain station on Thursday.
Video of the incident is circulating on social media, depicting a woman on the ground as the officers attempt to handcuff her.
In the video, the officers can be seen kneeing the woman in the back several times and deploying a conducted energy weapon, commonly known as a Taser.
In a media release Friday, transit police spokesperson Const. Amanda Steed said officers were called to reports of a woman reportedly “chasing other passengers, screaming incoherently and removing her clothing,” and who appeared to be having a mental health crisis.
Steed said when officers were unable to defuse the situation using de-escalation techniques they moved to “physically gain control of the woman to further assess her well-being and mitigate potential risk to her and the public.”
The use of knee strikes and a Taser are approved for police officers in certain situations where a suspect resists arrest and displays assaultive behaviour, she said.
“In this particular incident, the woman attempted to grab the officers’ weapons as she fought with them,” Steed said.
Transit police say paramedics sedated the woman at the scene and transported her to hospital under the Mental Health Act, and that there were no reported injuries.
“Over the past several months, we have seen an increase in mental health calls that are often unpredictable and dynamic in nature,” Steed said.
“Our primary goal is always to preserve the safety of everyone involved when resolving these types of incidents. In the vast majority of calls, this is achieved through means other than use of force. However, sometimes, it’s the only tool left available when safety is our priority.”
In the video, the woman can be heard screaming while the Taser is being deployed, and shouting “I’m not hitting you,” and “I’m not resisting them.”
A large crowd of onlookers can also be seen, many of them yelling at police to stop and telling them they are using too much force.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police declined a request for an interview on the incident.
The Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner confirmed that it had received complaints from the public over the incident.
In an email, Deputy Police Complaints Commissioner Andrea Spindler said the office was in contact with transit police to obtain more information.
“Once we receive that, we will review and make a determination of next steps in the coming days,” she said.
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