Innocent man beaten at home by Vancouver Police

VANCOUVER — A 44-year-old man whose face was left swollen and battered after being arrested in a case of mistaken identity did not resist arrest, Vancouver police said Friday — contradicting an earlier version of events offered by police.

Yaowei Wu is recovering after two plainclothes officers knocked on the wrong door during a domestic-assault call early Thursday.

Officers were called to the southeast Vancouver house at 2 a.m. after a woman called 911 to report that her drunken husband had struck her in the back of the head and she was concerned for her baby's safety.

The officers apparently didn't realize there were two suites in the home and the complainant was actually Wu's tenant, who lives in a ground-floor suite.

"The cops didn't ask clearly — not even ID me or anything — before they started beating me," Wu said through a translator to the Ming Pao newspaper.

"I think they have an attitude problem."

Wu said that before he could ask who the officers at his door were, he was dragged outside and beaten.

"My T-shirt was torn," Wu said. "I was beaten for quite a while before I was handcuffed. (I) felt pain to my head and body. When I touched my head and face with my hands . . . I felt my hands were all wet . . . they were full of blood."

On Thursday, Vancouver Police spokeswoman Const. Jana McGuinness said Wu had "resisted by striking out at the police and trying to slam the door, but the officers persisted in the belief that there may be a woman and child inside who could be in danger."

On Friday at a news conference, police said in a statement that Wu did not resist the officers.

Wu's wife heard the commotion and told the officers she was going to call the police, at which time the officers identified themselves to her.

Three more officers later arrived, one of whom spoke Cantonese and was able to speak with the couple and explain they had mistaken Wu for their suspect.

Wu was taken to Vancouver General Hospital as a precautionary measure, where he was treated for bruises to his head, waist and knees and fractured bones around his left eye.

He is scheduled to return to hospital Friday to ensure his eye wasn't damaged.

Vancouver Police chief Jim Chu later went to the house and personally apologized to Wu, promising a thorough investigation.

Officers also returned to the house to speak to the woman living in the ground-floor suite, who said her husband had hit her during an argument and then fled. He was located nearby and arrested for assault.

The Vancouver Police Department's Professional Standards Section will be conducting an investigation and the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has been notified.

(Source: Canada.com)

So I wonder how this could have been handled better and how the officers were able to enter his house with no evident signs of danger to them or the inside residents nor a probable cause for excessive force.

There a huge list of things I could write up on this but I could easily summarize it as follows.e.g. Violation of civilian rights, liberties unlawful entry, no identification of apprehension, no threats etc.

Most of us would call 911 for the police but what would you do if it was the police assaulting your husband at the front door?