B.C.’s high court says Police Complaints Commissioner can’t probe police beating

VANCOUVER – B.C.’s police complaints commissioner has lost his bid to further investigate the police beating of an innocent Vancouver man.

The B.C. Court of Appeal has unanimously rejected Police Complaint Commissioner Stan Lowe’s application to hold a public hearing into the January 2010 beating of Yao Wei Wu.

The high court says Lowe’s office did not have the jurisdiction to proceed with a public hearing after a Delta Police investigation found Wu resisted arrest, and cleared Vancouver police constables Nicholas Florkow and Bryan London of any wrongdoing.

Lowe’s office believed the investigation was flawed and said a public hearing could preserve confidence in probes of police misconduct.

The Court of Appeal ruling solely examine’s Lowe’s jurisdiction and the judges say it cannot make any reference to whether the police officers should have been cleared.

Florkow and London were answering a domestic violence call but went to the wrong Vancouver address and punched Wu several times when he answered the door. (CKNW)