A widely seen online video of a man being beaten on the ground and arrested has sparked outrage among some Port Alberni residents, but police have responded to say that the larger context of the situation must also be considered.
Police report that a 33-year-old man was arrested on Sunday, Aug. 17, after they were called to a business on the 3900 block of 8th Avenue “to remove an individual who was unwanted”. This area has two shelter facilities and the RCMP detachment.
The person was already being sought by police for breaching a court order, and when the officers arrived he fled. A chase ensued, ending in a nearby in an alley between 6th and 7th Avenue.
“It is alleged that the suspect then assaulted the police officer who had caught up to him and a physical struggle ended up on the ground with the suspect keeping his hands underneath his body,” stated the RCMP in a media release.
Seen 1.5 million times with over 7,600 shares through Facebook, a video of incident shows the man being taken down by two officers, held face down on the ground. The footage documents the man being struck by one of the officers, including three times in the side and back of the head with an elbow. As the male officer holds down the man and handcuffs him, a female officer restrains his legs and assists in the arrest.
“During the process of the arrest, police observed a sharp object in the suspect’s hands, and he was not complying with his arrest,” stated the RCMP. “Police had to use force to gain compliance and prevent further injuries.”
A sharp object is not clearly visible in the video, but other items are taken from the man as he’s being restrained. A third officer soon comes into view, who puts on latex gloves and picks up some things from under the restrained man, including something inside a Ziplock bag.
As the struggle ensues in the video, several people can be heard yelling explicative-laden insults at the officers.
“Hey, we see you,” shouts one woman.
“Hey, we got you on camera you f*cker,” shouts a man.
“We’ll see you on the news channel, you f*cking idiots,” says another man.
Following the arrest the individual was held at the RCMP detachment for a future court appearance.
On the evening of the arrest Ha-Shilth-Sa received an email from a person claiming to be the man’s sister, saying that he was “smashed” with an elbow multiple times when on the ground “and could not fight back”.
“While use of force by police in any arrest may be disturbing to onlookers, it is important to look at the totality, rather than the result,” said Inspector Kim Bruce, detachment commander for the Port Alberni RCMP, in a statement issued by police. “The Criminal Code provides us with the authority to use force, and it is not something we take lightly.”
The video is being circulated amid a particularly trying summer for the Port Alberni RCMP. The warmer months have brought four suspicious deaths, so far resulting in at least one charge of homicide. Earlier this month police announced a murder charge against William Shane Watts for an alleged homicide that occurred in Dry Creek Park on June 16.
Three other suspicious death investigations took place in August, incidents in which police asked for the public’s assistance to bring forward any valuable information.
On Aug. 11 Insp. Bruce gave an update to Port Alberni City Council from the “resource constrained” detachment.
“I’m concerned for just how violent it is here,” she said during the city council meeting.
During her update Bruce informed about a Port Alberni crime rate more than double the provincial average, with an inordinate number of Crown submissions in the small city. As of the end of June, 2025 has brought 493 submissions from the Port Alberni RCMP to the Crown for sentencing, more than the larger urban areas of Campbell River and the Comox Valley. Over the same period of this year Nanaimo - a city triple the size of the Alberni Valley - had 666 submissions to the Crown.
“I think the community is growing more concerned as we start to hear some of the specific cases that are happening,” said Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minions.
“The number of offenders released on conditions to this community places the burden for enforcing those conditions on our police force,” said Bruce. “Our ability to enforce conditions is greatly diminished by increasing summer call volumes that create operations pressures elsewhere.”
“We can see 15 to 20 checks occur in a night, and at least half of those are persons found to be in breach of their conditions,” added the police inspector.
As the workload continues, a statement from the City of Port Alberni notes that “the mayor wishes to express full confidence in the dedicated efforts of our local RCMP detachment. Their team is actively investigating the circumstances surrounding these events, and we trust in their professionalism and commitment to ensuring the safety of our community.”
