B.C.’s municipal police watchdog is holding a public hearing for two Vancouver police officers accused of using excessive force when they entered a family home in 2016.
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner said Thursday it would hold a public hearing into the conduct of Const. Eric Ludeman and Const. Neil Logan, following a resident’s complaint of “excessive use of force and improper entry.”
According to a notice from commissioner Clayton Pecknold, Vladamir Tchaikoun alleged he was at home on March 13, 2016, when someone knocked at the door and he went to answer it.
“Officers addressed him in a very aggressive tone with one officer asking about his wife,” Pecknold said. “While holding the door open, officers forced their way through the door.”
Tchaikoun claimed the officers punched, kicked, and head-butted him, and hit him with a baton. His wife and son came downstairs, he said, and his son was punched at least three times in the face, according to the notice.
He said he had not raised his voice, been impolite or threatening, or tried to touch Ludeman or Logan.
The public hearing was called, following investigations by both an external police force and a retired judge, to hear further from Tchaikoun. A date has yet to be set.
“The commissioner determined that a full public accounting of this matter under oath was necessary to both seek the truth and maintain public confidence in the Vancouver Police Department,” said deputy commissioner Andrea Spindler.
