VANCOUVER Police Department officers deployed a police dog and used a beanbag shotgun to arrest an armed suspect in Kitsilano, who tried to evade police by hiding at the bottom of an industrial dumpster.
Police responded around noon on Sunday to reports of a suspicious man going through people’s backyards along the Arbutus Greenway, near Maple Street. As officers arrived, police received additional reports that the same man was threatening people in the neighbourhood, and was armed with a pair of gardening shears.
Police located the suspect in a lane near Arbutus and West 11th, however, the suspect fled into a compound behind a business and attempted to barricade himself. After the suspect failed to surrender, a police dog was deployed into the compound and located the suspect at the bottom of a dumpster. He was still armed with the gardening sheers and was hiding under several layers of garbage.
The suspect was bitten by the police dog during the arrest and struck with non-lethal rounds from a beanbag shotgun after he fought with the dog and attempted to injure it. He remains in custody and is receiving medical treatment for injuries sustained during the arrest.
At the time of his arrest, the 31-year-old suspect was wanted BC-wide for assault, assault by choking, uttering threats, and mischief. Vancouver Police are recommending additional charges related to mischief, weapons possession, and breaching bail conditions.
