Police investigate after officer kicks handcuffed suspect

Vancouver police are investigating the actions of a police officer after he allegedly kicked a suspect in the chest who was sitting naked and handcuffed on a curbside Wednesday evening.

“We take these allegations extremely seriously and that’s why we’ve taken immediate action,” Const. Lindsey Houghton said in a press conference at police headquarters Thursday evening.

The investigation was initiated by the Professional Standards Section after they were made aware of a six-second video clip of the incident — filmed by another media outlet.

The incident happened Wednesday evening around 8 p.m., after police had spent some time tracking down a robbery suspect.

The initial robbery call came in from an adult sex shop on the 1400-block West Broadway. The man stole $150 in cash and took off with $250 worth of merchandise. He ran from the store, but police were then flagged down by a woman who said a man tried to hijack her car — her description of the culprit matched that of the robber. Later Wednesday evening, more calls came in from residents along the 1500-block West 15th Avenue saying a man stripped off his clothes and tried to enter a home.

Police found the suspect naked at the location and arrested him, which is when the alleged kick is said to have happened.

The man was then transported to hospital, where he was treated for a drug overdose and then returned to police custody.

No other injuries were reported, except for the drug overdose.

“The video is extremely brief — it’s only six seconds long,” said Houghton. “It’s a very short snapshot of the entire incident. From the time the robbery took place to the time the man was taken to the hospital was several minutes in length, so six seconds is not a lot of time.”

Ryan James Felton, 39, of Surrey was formally charged with one count of robbery and made his first court appearance Thursday morning.

The officer in question has been removed from his operational duties, confining him to desk work. His name was not released, but he’s a constable with about 10 years experience.

Houghton couldn’t say whether the officer has been the subject of a similar investigation before, but said that will be included in the investigation.