Police say a man has now been charged after a video of his dramatic arrest on a patio on Vancouver’s Davie Street garnered attention online this week.
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) says a man called 911 on Wednesday, claiming he had a knife and was heading to a park near Thurlow and Comox streets to kill someone who had previously assaulted him.
Police say multiple VPD officers, including crisis negotiators and members of the Emergency Response Team, responded to the call and began searching for the man throughout the West End. VPD says it located the man on a patio on Davie Street.
In the video, officers can be seen surrounding the man on the patio. He appears to sit still as police order him to get on the ground. They can be seen firing a beanbag gun and tazer at him, and then tackling him to the ground at gunpoint.
VPD say the man repeatedly failed to comply with officers demands, and a tazer and beanbag gun were used to take him into custody without injury to the public or police.
Police say the man, Bradley McElroy, has now been charged with uttering threats.
McElroy has been released by the courts until his next appearance, set for July 3.