An alleged wrongful arrest at a Burnaby supermarket in February has sparked a lawsuit against the Vancouver Police Department.
In a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Vancouver resident Jason Victor Hernandez, 37, claims he was leaving the Metrotown Real Canadian Superstore on Feb. 1 when he was confronted by a group of Vancouver police officers, some with weapons drawn and aimed at him.
The officers told him to surrender himself, according to the notice of civil claim, and he says he didn’t resist except to say he thought they were arresting the wrong man.
Despite his compliance, Hernandez claims he was struck repeatedly during the arrest and sustained abrasions and bruising to his face and body, several broken ribs and a concussion.
After he was cuffed and taken to a nearby VPD police vehicle, he says police told him he was suspected of being Daon Gordon Glasgow, the man suspected of shooting Transit Police Const. Josh Harms.
Glasgow was arrested at a home in the 7500 block of Boundary Road two days later and has since been charged with attempted murder and weapons offences.
Harms has since recovered after being shot in both arms.
Hernandez says he protested his innocence and offered to provide identification that would have shown conclusively he was not Glasgow.
“Despite the fact that Mr. Hernandez bears almost no resemblance to (the suspect), he was then detained for over five hours while VPD members refused to check his identification or accept his explanation that he was not the person they were seeking,” states Hernandez’s notice of civil claim. “It was not until his fingerprints were processed and found not to match those of (the suspect) that he was released.”
The lawsuit calls Hernandez’ detention “unlawful” and says it caused him “prolonged emotional distress.”
Hernandez says Vancouver police apologized to him for their mistreatment and offered to put him up at a nearby hotel because he’d missed an appointment to move into a new residence while he was detained.
“However, despite ongoing assurances to Mr. Hernandez, the VPD failed to follow through with their offer for accommodations and Mr. Hernandez was forced to spend a night in the hotel lobby awaiting reservations which never arrived. This callous treatment heightened Mr. Hernandez’s distress with the whole series of events,” states the notice of civil claim.
Hernandez is claiming general, special and exemplary damages “to punish the defendants for their highhanded treatment of Mr. Hernandez, and to deter the defendants from further inappropriate conduct.”
None of the allegations have yet been tested in court.
Vancouver police have not yet filed a response to the claim.
