Vancouver police officer charged with assaulting cyclist during arrest

VANCOUVER – A Vancouver police officer has been charged with assault in connection to an arrest where a man was punched.

West Vancouver Police conducted the investigation involving Const. Ismail Bhabha after a video of the incident surfaced on the Internet.

The footage shows Bhabha punching a cyclist he was attempting to handcuff during an arrest in March.

The officers involved said they were trying to arrest a man because he rode his bicycle through a red light and wasn’t wearing a helmet.

The Office of the Police Complaints Commission ordered the West Vancouver police to investigate the allegations.

The Crown approved the recommendation of the single charge of assault this week and the charge was sworn against Bhabha in Vancouver provincial court on Friday.

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