An indigenous teenage girl was assaulted by a Vancouver Police Department (VPD) special constable, Omar Ahmed Flores, who was serving as a jail guard. Flores recently received a sentence of six months of house arrest after admitting to assaulting two detainees in January 2023. This came about a year following the assaults, with one victim being the 17-year-old indigenous girl.
During the assaults, both victims were restrained and did not pose any safety threats to the officers present. Provincial court Judge Colleen Elden, in her sentencing decision, emphasized that Flores, in a position of power and responsibility towards the detainees, carried out unnecessary acts of violence against them.
In the first incident, which involved the intoxicated indigenous teenager on New Year’s Day in 2023, Elden detailed how Flores punched the girl four times in the stomach while she was in a restraint chair and wearing a spit mask. Elden criticized the excessive use of force, noting that there was no urgency in the situation with nine other guards and officers on-site.
The judge expressed concern over the treatment of the assaulted girl, who was released to her parents after being restrained in the chair for over six hours. Elden highlighted the tragic irony of the situation, where the girl was taken into custody due to her inability to care for herself, only to face further mistreatment.
Flores was involved in a second violent incident within a week, where he assaulted a detainee who had spat in his direction. The judge noted that Flores kicked, stomped on the man’s face, punched him, and kneed him multiple times, risking serious injuries. Despite the impact on public confidence in the justice system, Elden acknowledged some mitigating factors, such as Flores’ guilty plea and remorse.
While Flores’ defense attributed the assaults to a temporary period of psychological and neurological impairment, the judge dismissed this claim. Rejecting a proposed suspended sentence, Elden sentenced Flores to six months of house arrest, prohibiting contact with the victims and the use of alcohol and drugs. Flores, who had been on paid leave throughout the legal proceedings, expressed his intention to resign, acknowledging his unsuitability for jail work.