A Vancouver police officer who was stabbed while working is still recovering and not yet back at work.
Two uniformed officers were patrolling Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside around 7 p.m. on March 4 when one of them was stabbed in the leg.
A surveillance video submitted to Glacier Media shows a man walking behind two officers on the crosswalk at East Hastings and Main Street.
He can be seen leaning down and lunging towards the officer’s leg, slashing him multiple times before running off.
“Random senseless violence is intolerable and certain people need to be incarcerated,” said Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer on March 4.
Solaris Onatta Running Dey, 29, has been charged with aggravated assault of a police officer and assault of a peace officer with a weapon.
Dey was found guilty of manslaughter of Aspen Pallot, a Richmond woman, in November 2020 in B.C. Supreme Court.
When Dey was released from jail after serving two years for Pallot's death, he was back in court for breaching probation in December 2023.
Attack a 'reminder' about dangers in the DTES
In February, “Task Force Barrage,” a $5-million strategy, was created to dismantle organized crime networks and target criminals in the Downtown Eastside.
Sgt. Steve Addison said officers will “continue to stay the course,” given the latest incident, and that having the additional officers has a positive impact on safety.
"The attack on one of our officers has not changed our objective or our style of policing, but it is a reminder of the dangers that exist for everyone in the Downtown Eastside,” said Addison.
He noted officers are seizing dozens of weapons and drugs from the DTES every day. A photograph supplied to Glacier Media shows a large number of drugs and weapons seized over just a three-week period.
Drugs that officers have seized include fentanyl, heroin, crack cocaine and other illicit substances that are being trafficked on the street by drug dealers.
"In addition to the officers you see on the street, we’re also working covertly to target predatory drug dealers and organized criminal networks that are operating in the neighbourhood,” said Addison.
“It’s a big job and it’s going to take some time, so we need to stay the course.”
On Saturday, officers found a federal offender, who was wanted Canada-wide, in the Downtown Eastside. Christopher Lutz-Veinot, 30, was arrested by an officer working for the task force on Abbott Street. He's now being held in custody.
Earlier in the day on Saturday, officers working the task force shift helped again.
A person stole a vehicle and struck multiple parked vehicles and police cruisers in the downtown core. Officers attempted to stop the thief in the Porsche Cayenne near Burrard and Alberni streets but the driver fled towards the Downtown Eastside. The driver was spotted by task force barrage officers near Main and Union streets and arrested.
Dey, meanwhile, is next expected to appear in court on March 19.
