Kelowna Mounties reviewing officer actions after visible arrest downtown

Kelowna Mounties are reviewing the actions of an officer after a "struggle" with a man during an arrest in the city's downtown Saturday night.

Police were called to the 200 block of Bernard Ave downtown for a report of a suspicious vehicle with an alleged impaired driver in a parking lot, says Kelowna RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy. 

She said they found a 30-year-old Kelowna man drunk inside the vehicle. She said he was "uncooperative" and was arrested for obstructing a police officer. 

“During the arrest, the man actively resisted and allegedly turned assaultive toward the RCMP officers by pulling away, raising clenched fists and refusing to cooperate with commands that were given to him. Officers then requested immediate backup and a third member responded to their request,” Noseworthy said. “The suspect was taken into custody after a brief struggle. He was medically assessed by B.C. Emergency Health Services and later transported to hospital for treatment of minor injuries.”

Supt. Brent Mundle, officer in charge of the detachment, said he was made aware of what happened, though he doesn't explain it in the release.

"A thorough internal review of this officer’s actions is currently underway,” Mundle said in the release. “A 12-second video currently being circulated on social media sites only illustrates one short moment during the incident. It does not include what precipitated the situation where the officer felt the physical force seen in the video was necessary. Our officers are trained to conduct a continual risk assessment of the situation, often these decisions are required in a split second.”

Police are reviewing criminal charges for the man they arrested but not comment about the results of the review were mentioned. 

"No further information is being released at this time," Noseworthy said.

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