Latest news with #VancouverPoliceDepartment
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Arrest made after bus stabbing in Vancouver's Kitsilano
A Vancouver Police Department patch is seen on an officer's uniform in Vancouver, on Jan. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck A 28-year-old is facing charges for multiple offences after a stabbing in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police were called before 3 a.m. for reports of a stabbing on a bus near the Burrard Bridge, the Vancouver Police Department said in a statement Sunday evening. Officers arrived to find a 22-year-old with life threatening injuries, who was subsequently taken to hospital. According to police, a suspect was arrested near Burrard Street and Cornwall Avenue. Parsa Ganjizadehzavareh has been charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. They remain in custody.
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
‘Serious incident' in Downtown Vancouver under investigation
Police tape and vehicles can be seen near the courthouse in Downtown Vancouver on Sunday, July 20, 2025. Police are providing few details about what they describe as a 'serious incident' in and around Vancouver's Robson Square Sunday. Around 8:30 a.m. yellow police tape was blocking off the north end of the courthouse complex, snaking around buildings and cordoning off of nearby streets. A police drone was seen flying overhead and at least a dozen officers were on scene. The Vancouver Police Department provided a brief statement in response to a CTV News request for information. 'It's a serious incident that is under investigation by our Major Crime Section and we will have additional officers in the area throughout the day to collect evidence,' spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison wrote in an email, adding that an update will be provided later Sunday or Monday morning. This story will be updated if more information is received.
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
Vancouver police officer retires after suspension, demotion for sexual harassment
Keiron McConnell was demoted and suspended without pay for 20 days after admitting that he sent inappropriate sexualized messages to female students and fellow officers. A Vancouver police sergeant, who was demoted and suspended without pay in May after admitting to sexually harassing female students and fellow officers, has retired from the force. Keiron McConnell had served with the Vancouver Police Department for more than three decades, including 18 years as a sergeant, before B.C.'s police complaint commissioner opened an investigation into his conduct last year. 'McConnell has retired and is no longer a serving member of the Vancouver Police Department,' a VPD spokesperson said in an emailed statement Thursday. In May, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner ordered McConnell demoted to constable and suspended for 20 days after he admitted to sending inappropriate sexualized messages to the victims. The OPCC adjudicator also recommended the department adopt a 'standalone' policy and training to eradicate workplace sexual harassment. Retired judge Carol Baird Ellan also ordered McConnell to undertake counselling and training on proper workplace boundaries with women. Ellan's ruling said the 35-year police veteran 'had issues respecting or recognizing reasonable boundaries.' 'His behaviour capitalized on his superior position, which afforded him access to these younger individuals for whom, with respect, he might not otherwise reasonably be considered age appropriate, or eligible,' the adjudicator said. McConnell admitted to sending unwanted texts and Facebook messages to colleagues and criminology students he taught in B.C. universities between 2015 and 2019. McConnell engaged in 'a pattern of inappropriate behaviour with multiple women,' and claimed to be 'oblivious' of its impact, despite some of his messages indicating he was aware that they crossed boundaries. Read more: Veteran Vancouver police sergeant demoted, suspended for sexual harassment Lawyers from the commissioner's office claimed McConnell's conduct had 'a clear complexion of grooming' and that he was 'either oblivious to social boundaries, or contemptuous of them.' The allegations against McConnell first came to light in December 2021, when a photo of the sergeant with two senior VPD officers was posted on social media. The OPCC said the photo drew comments calling McConnell a 'sexual predator' with a 'history of sexually assaulting his students' at Royal Roads University. The following month, a Vancouver police colleague went to the department's professional standards section with a series of Facebook messages she had allegedly exchanged with the sergeant, which she felt were sexually inappropriate, according to the commissioner's notice announcing the hearing in June 2024. Ellan said the Vancouver Police Department should work with experts to develop training and a policy on sexual harassment, and ensure complainants are protected from 'negative consequences' for speaking out. 'We must seek to address any officer behaviour that causes victims not to come forward due to fear of intimidation and retaliation,' he said. With files from The Canadian Press
Global News
7 days ago
- Global News
Police to beef up Celebration of Lights security with steel barriers, drones
Police will deploy hundreds of extra officers, drones and concrete and steel barriers when Vancouver stages one of its largest annual public events, starting this weekend. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to pack the streets and beaches of downtown Vancouver and Kits Point as teams from Quebec, Yukon and Nova Scotia compete in the Celebration of Light fireworks display. The event is typically the Vancouver Police Department's largest annual deployment, but in the wake of the Lapu Lapu Day festival vehicle ramming in April, public safety has become an even greater concern. 2:20 New safety tools officials using at Vancouver summer events 'On the ground, you are going to see a significant and highly visible police presence,' Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said at a briefing by transportation and emergency officials on Tuesday morning. Story continues below advertisement 'We've got you covered on land, on the water and in the air so that you can come down with your friends, with your family, have a good time, have a safe time, and know that we have your back.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The VPD will be deploying 400 additional officers on the nights of the July 19, 23 and 26 events. That deployment will include members of the public safety unit, gang unit, emergency response team, drone pilots as well as mounted officers in the West End. There will be significant road closures downtown and in Kits Point, with police installing 320-kg 'Archer' barriers designed to prevent vehicle incursions. Police will also deploy concrete barriers at all access points to Denman Avenue, which is typically jammed with throngs of people before and after the fireworks performance. 'There are additional barriers that are going to be put out this year, more cement blocks, you know, more containment of the event zone,' Honda Celebration of Light executive producer Paul Runnals told Global News. 'But, but we've been doing heavy vehicle barriers and other mitigation measures for many years, it's not new to us. We're enhancing it this year, based on the learnings from April, but it really is just an extension of what we've been doing for a long time.' 7:36 B.C. releases event safety and security report Private drones will be strictly prohibited on fireworks nights. Story continues below advertisement Police are also reminding people that they will be enforcing laws against public drinking. With road closures in effect, any fireworks attendees are being encouraged to leave their vehicles at home and to walk, bike or take public transit to the show. 'Leading up to the event and following the event the SkyTrain will operate on peak service, which means trains will come very two to three minutes, there will also be extra sailing for the SeaBus, so you can hop on board more frequently, and on the final firworks night, Saturday, July 26, we will have special West Coast Express service form Mission and from Waterfront,' TransLink spokesperson Anita Bathe said. 'To help us support customer flow downtown, we are running special shuttle buses.' The road closures mean some buses downtown will also have to be rerouted, including the Number 5, Number 6 and Number 23, and TransLink is urging all transit commuters to plan some extra time into their trips. You can find a full schedule of Celebration of Light events, including flyovers by the Snowbirds, at the event's website.
Vancouver Sun
10-07-2025
- Vancouver Sun
VPD seek witness to June crash on Stanley Park Causeway
Vancouver police are looking for the driver of a Tesla who may have captured footage of a crash off the Lions Gate Bridge last month that left two people injured. The collision occurred just after 4 a.m. on June 15 when a white Ford F150 crashed with a black Chevrolet Corvette on the Stanley Park Causeway, just south of the Lions Gate Bridge. The drivers had non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospital. As part of the investigation, police have dashcam footage from a taxi that captured a white Tesla on the Causeway around the time of the crash, said Const. Tania Visintin. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'We are asking the driver of that Tesla, and anyone else who may have witnessed the collision or has relevant video footage, to contact police,' she said in a news release. Police said drug and alcohol impairment are not factors in the crash. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Vancouver Police Department at 604-717-4021.
