Abbotsford police officer punches man twice in face during arrest

The Abbotsford Police Department’s Professional Standards Section is investigating an incident outside The Offspring concert Saturday, as footage of a man being punched twice in the face by an officer during an arrest is making its rounds on social media.

Posted to Facebook by Abbotsford resident Marty Gaites, the video shows a man surrounded by AbbyPD officers. About 40 seconds into the minute-and-a-half footage, the man with his hands behind is seen struggling with two police officers. One officer is then seen punching him in the face twice before he falls to the ground.

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In a release, Sgt. Paul Walker says the use of force is now under review after The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) was notified on Sunday.

Walker says that after the concert finished, officers were dealing with a member of the public when the person involved in the video “began to interfere with the officer’s investigation.”

“During this time, the man ignored police direction to disengage, but he continued. As a result of the man’s actions, police advised him that he was under arrest for obstruction. During the arrest, the man continued to be non-compliant, resulting in the officer using force on him, striking him twice in the face before taking him into custody and placing him in handcuffs,” he said.

“AbbyPD is committed to obtaining all information which led to the use of force in this situation. Unfortunately, as this incident is under investigation, we cannot provide further comment,” he wrote.

In an email, Walker tells CityNews the man “was not injured and therefore not sent to hospital.”

He adds the IIO “was not called and the officer remains on duty pending the investigation.”