Vancouver police officer’s leg is broken while subduing agitated man

Vancouver police say one officer is recovering from a severely broken leg and a second officer has sprained fingers after subduing an agitated man near the city’s entertainment district.

Sgt. Jason Robillard says two patrol officers were in a parked cruiser in the downtown core early Monday when the 44-year-old man approached and allegedly physically confronted them.

In trying to control and arrest the man, one officer’s leg was broken so badly that Robillard says the member remains in hospital following emergency surgery to set a bone that pierced the skin.

The second officer was released after being treated for the hand injury.

Robillard says the Crown has approved charges of aggravated assault, assaulting a police officer, assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats against 44-year-old Paul Eddison of Penticton, B.C., who returns to court early next month.

Robillard says the department wishes its officers a speedy recovery.

“Our frontline patrol officers deal with challenging situations on a daily basis. They are required to continually get in harm’s way to protect the citizens they serve,” says Robillard in the release.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled the name of the accused.