ONE man has been charged and two youths have been arrested in Vancouver following separate incidents in which they attempted to get away from police while riding e-dirt bikes and e-scooters.
In the latest incident, a Vancouver Police officer was knocked to the ground by a man riding an e-scooter in the Downtown Eastside. The incident occurred shortly after 1 a.m. on Tuesday when the officer attempted to stop the rider for a traffic offence in the 400-block of Carrall Street. Officers caught up with the man and arrested him.
The rider was allegedly carrying two kilograms of suspected fentanyl, crack cocaine and methamphetamine. Charges of assaulting a police officer and obstruction have been forwarded to Crown counsel. A drug trafficking investigation remains ongoing.
On Monday, two youths were arrested following a months-long investigation stemming from an incident in July.
On July 9, three youths were observed riding e-dirt bikes dangerously in downtown Vancouver. They were travelling in the Dunsmuir Street bike lane and running red and yellow lights. When officers attempted to stop them, all three took off eastbound on Pender Street at speeds of approximately 80 km/h.
Officers later located two of the youths riding near the Vancouver Convention Centre, where they were stopped and detained. The youths were 14 years old and 16 years old at the time. They were later released into the custody of their parents.
Police seized the e-dirt bikes and a GoPro camera, then continued the investigation by collecting CCTV footage and obtaining a search warrant to examine the GoPro.
“Both youths involved in this investigation have had previous contact with police for similar behaviour,” said Sgt. Adam Donaldson of the Vancouver Police Department. “One was stopped for riding on Highway 99, and the other was stopped downtown and ticketed for operating without insurance. These e-dirt bikes are not intended for use on public roads.”
Both youths have been charged with one count each of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and flight from police. They were arrested on Monday after warrants were issued following charge approval.
