Vancouver officer injured in assault after a routine traffic stop: police

VANCOUVER – An assault during a routine traffic stop in Vancouver has landed a city police officer in hospital with what the department says are significant injuries.

Sgt. Jason Robillard says two patrol officers stopped a Dodge Durango with three men inside while it was driving down a bus-only street in downtown Vancouver Tuesday night.

When the passenger door was opened, Robillard says one person pulled the officer inside and two men began beating him around his head and face.

When the other officer stepped in to help, police say all three men got out of the vehicle and continued the assault.

The officers called for help and one of occupants in the vehicle took off, only to be hit be a vehicle as he ran through an intersection against a red light.

Two men from West Vancouver and another from Victoria face charges including assaulting a police officer, theft, obstruction, and other charges related to alcohol and drugs seized from the vehicle may also be laid.