Three Vancouver police officers injured in violent takedown

Three Vancouver police officers and police dog “Shack” are recovering from minor injuries after an arrest turned violent on May 26th.

Shortly before 8:30 p.m. on the evening of May 26th, an employee at 628 Kinghorne Mews in Vancouver called 9-1-1 after recognizing a man outside his building as the same person who had allegedly assaulted him in early April. Fearing for his safety, he remained inside the building and waited for police to arrive. Information received by the attending officers indicated that the man was wanted on a warrant for assault causing bodily harm and mischief stemming from the April assault.

A police canine handler with his dog Shack arrived on scene first and confronted the man near the seawall. When the man suddenly advanced on the handler, ignoring all commands, Shack was deployed. The officer called for cover as the man allegedly grabbed the dog’s snout, and twisted it violently while pressing his thumbs into the dog’s eyes causing him to yelp in pain.

Seconds later, as the handler himself fought off blows to his head from the man, arriving officers moved in to assist in the arrest. It took the six officers several minutes to get the man under control and into handcuffs. He was taken to jail and then off to hospital for a check up and treatment of bite wounds to his arm and bruising suffered during the arrest.

Three of the arresting officers were treated for multiple contusions, lacerations, and hand and knee injuries sustained during the violent struggle. PSD Shack will be monitored over the next few days for signs of injury.

Dean Rackham, 49, is charged with assaulting a peace officer and breach of undertaking in connection with this incident. He is also facing charges of assault causing bodily harm and trespass by night stemming from the April 9th incident in which two people at Kinghorne Mews were allegedly assaulted at random.

Rackham has a criminal record dating back to 1989 with multiple convictions for assault. Police are requesting a mental health assessment, as he has a long history of mental health issues that have brought him into contact with police around the Lower Mainland.