A video has appeared on YouTube showing an interaction between a Vancouver Police officer and a driver that ends with police smashing the man’s car window.
As a result, questions are being raised as to the rights of drivers when they have been pulled over by police. The exchange shows the unidentified driver recording the incident on his cellphone, questioning officers as to why he was pulled over.
The driver asks repeatedly why he has been pulled over, while the police sergeant repeatedly asks the driver to open his car door. The situation escalates between the two, and another officer can be seen approaching the vehicle as well.
“Open the door, I’m not playing this game, you’re under arrest” said the sergeant as the driver continues to refuse to open it.
“Why am I under arrest?” asks the driver.
The sergeant then claims to be able to smell marijuana coming from the vehicle, which the driver denies. The second officer walks up to the vehicle and confirms that he smells it as well. Then the sergeant threatens to break the car window, and moments later he makes good on the threat.
The video then ends with the driver being pulled from the vehicle, thrown on the ground and arrested. The incident occurred on November 6th, 2014 near the area of 41st and Granville Street.
“The officers found marijuana in the vehicle, I am prescribed cannabis for medical purposes and was licensed under the MMAR,” said the driver of the vehicle in a blog post. “I did not sign with the MMPR as there was no way that I could afford to purchase my medicine at a ridiculous 400 per cent increase in cost. I have been waiting for the pending verdict for the constitutional challenge. I have not been given reasonable access to a reasonable supply of medicine, thus violating my constitutional rights and greatly affecting my health and the quality of my life.”
The Vancouver Police Department have not commented publicly on the incident, but the video only shows one side of the story. The driver was given a roadside exam and was not charged with impaired driving, but police say they did find drugs in the vehicle and he is facing a number of charges.
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