Disabled woman wants officer who pushed her disciplined

By

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The disabled woman who was pushed over by a Vancouver police officer two years ago wants Cst. Taylor Robinson to face a public hearing.

“I’m traumatized and I’ve been getting a lot of nightmares lately,” says Sandy Davidsen.  “I’m under too much stress, trying to do the right thing.”

Davidsen is speaking for the first time since Robinson was given a one-day suspension earlier this week.

BC’s Police Complaint Commissioner rejected the punishment because he felt it was too light.

He has ordered a disciplinary hearing for October.

A surveillance video shows Robinson shoving Davidsen to the ground as he and two other officers walked past her on the Downtown Eastside in June, 2010.

Robinson wrote a letter to Davidsen, explaining he acted the way he did because he thought she was reaching for his gun.

Davidsen doesn’t buy it.

“I asked him nicely, ‘Excuse me, can I get by please?” Davidsen says.  “I have a disability, cerebral palsy, and because I was walking on Hastings I felt like I was being judged [by the way I walk] but I wasn’t on drugs.”

It will be up to the Police Complaint Commissioner to decide whether there will be a public hearing after Robinson’s disciplinary hearing wraps up.

She says she hasn’t trusted police officers since she was pushed.

“The VPD has a lot of talking points about what a great relationship they have in the Downtown Eastside and how great they’re doing, but in reality, when Sandy is in trouble again she’s not going to call the police,” Davidsen’s lawyer Scott Bernstein says.

If there is a public hearing, Bernstein hopes one of the recommendations that will come out of it is mandatory civilian oversight for discipline matters involving police.

On September 10, BC’s new police watch dog the Independent Investigations Office will handle serious cases involving police officers, such as when an officer shoots a suspect.

“I think as an idea, it’s a big step and it shows that there is movement toward civilian oversight but it only has to do with incidents where police use lethal force or cause grave injury to somebody,” Bernstein says.  “A case like Sandy’s is left totally outside of that and on a day-to-day basis there are far more cases on a level of what happened to Sandy than there are of lethal force.”

Davidsen is suing for damages and has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today