Cars seen running red lights in Richmond, not what it appears: police
Posted February 8, 2018 8:01 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) – On Wednesday, dashcam video surfaced on social media showing several vehicles flying through red lights at a couple of busy Richmond intersections last week. The video was shared quite a bit, with more than 86,000 views on YouTube. It also garnered quite the response from locals demanding change for the brazen behaviour.
But, it turns out, there’s more to the story than just aggressive driving caught on video.
On Thursday evening, BC’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said it had reviewed the footage and determined the vehicles involved belonged to the force. The unit says the assigned officers were on duty and were “actively engaged in surveillance on high-level targets involved in gang and organized crime related activity.”
CFSEU says it will be following up with the officers involved to ensure “they were acting within the scope of their duties, training, and the Motor Vehicle Act,” which the unit is reminding the public, has provisions and exemptions specifically for police officers.
“While we cannot comment on the nature of the surveillance due to the active investigation that the officers who were driving the vehicles were involved in, we want to reassure those concerned that we are committed to ensuring the public’s safety due to the risks of gang-related violence in our communities,” says Sergeant Brenda Winpenny.
The video begins at the intersection of Bridgeport and Simpson Roads at about 9:30 a.m. on January 31st and over the 10-minute span shows several cars zip and weave around other cars while speeding through red lights.
