Man kicked by cop
was seeking police help
when arrested
Louise Dickson, Vancouver Province, March 26, 2010
A frame grab from the video in which a Victoria officer
is caught kicking two men while an arrest is being made.
Tyler Archer: “It was probably the most painful thing I’ve ever felt.”
Photo: Bruce Stotesbury, Times Colonist.
Tyler Archer needed help.
Around midnight Saturday, he’d turned the wrong corner and ended up in a fight with people he didn’t know on Store Street. His shirt was pulled over his head. He was dealt several hard blows to the head.
“I got out of there and got onto the grass because my face was badly injured,” said the 19-year-old Claremont grad, who plays defence for the Junior Shamrocks.
“My friend told the cops I’d been attacked. I wanted to get help, but once they started coming at me, I understood they weren’t trying to help me.”
More than 200,000 people have seen the Youtube video of Archer being kicked by an unidentified Victoria police officer.
Today, five days after the sharp kick to his ribs, Archer holds himself stiffly and appears close to tears as he recalls the sound of the kick and the pain reverberating through his body.
“I remember screaming. I remember yelling and crying afterward. It was probably the most painful thing, I’ve ever felt,” said the six-foot, five-inch, 250-pound lacrosse player.
The next day, he couldn’t get out of bed. When Archer, who has no criminal record, showed his parents the video, his mother Marnie Faust burst into tears, calling the kick “barbaric.”
Archer said it still hurts to breathe and he performed miserably at a lacrosse tryout earlier this week. He is suing Victoria police for assault and breach of his Charter rights.
Defence lawyer Richard Neary said his client was confused and trying to comply with police commands. After being handcuffed, Archer was left face down on the ground for about 40 minutes, said Neary. He was treated by paramedics and allowed to go home.
“He’s a young man incredibly shook up by what’s happened. He’s going to need some psychological help as well,” said Neary.
Victoria police Chief Jamie Graham said yesterday that “many officers” who have viewed the video are “not shocked at all.”
“This is use of force. This is what we’re trained to do,” Graham said.
The nine-year Victoria officer who inflicted the kicks has been placed on administrative leave and is the subject of an internal investigation by Victoria police and a criminal investigation by the Vancouver police.
Back to News and Comment page