B.C's police complaint commissioner has ordered an investigation into the punching of a cyclist by a Vancouver police officer.
The commissioner has ordered the West Vancouver Police Department to head up the probe.
The incident involves Vancouver Const. Ismail Bhabha arresting Andisheh Akhavan, who was stopped for riding his bike without a helmet and running a red light in Yaletown on March 25.
A video filmed by a friend shows Akhavan fidgeting while Bhabha put handcuffs on him, then Bhabha striking him in the face.
The commissioner says his office learned about it later through a journalist, who passed on the video.
Upon viewing it, his office contacted Vancouver police.
“You can see from the interest that was generated from media reports that there (are) questions around the conduct of the officer. So it's important for the public to have faith in the police that this matter be investigated to determine if there was any misconduct by the officer in terms of the force used or not,” spokesman Rollie Woods says.
The VPD will continue its own internal investigation.
The Vancouver department has said the officer reported the incident to his supervisor soon after it happened.