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UPDATED: Longboarders dodge West Vancouver police SUV

The West Vancouver Police Department is looking into an incident in which one of their officers allegedly drove into an oncoming traffic lane to stop a group longboarders coming downhill.
longboard
A screengrab from a Youtube video depicting a confontation between longboarders and West Vancouver police.

The West Vancouver Police Department is looking into an incident in which one of their officers allegedly drove into an oncoming traffic lane to stop a group longboarders coming downhill.

A group of longboarders captured the incident on Finch Hill Road on Wednesday afternoon with a helmet-mounted camera. The video has racked up more than 350,000 views since it was posted Sunday night.

The video depicts a group of riders heading down the hill, which is illegal in West Vancouver, when a officer in an unmarked police SUV turns his lights on, pulls into the centre of the road and slams on the brakes. In the video, the riders swerve off the road to avoid the vehicle and tumble into the surrounding bus stop and yards.

The video then cuts to the officer and longboarders confronting each other.

"You swerved in front of our lane and made all these guys crash," one of the riders says.

But the officer cuts him off. "'Our lane?' It's illegal to ride a longboard here. I'm sick and tired of dealing with you guys. Do you understand?" he retorts.

The two continue to argue before the video ends with the longboarder saying: "You should be doing better things with your time instead of running kids off the road with your vehicle."

In the video's description, YouTube user Danny Carlson describes the incident in his own words: "A West Vancouver police officer in an unmarked SUV abruptly swerves in front of a group of longboarders to enforce a $35 bylaw violation. Luckily, everyone managed to avoid the reckless manoeuvre, and this footage doesn't have to be used in court. Skate safe, and avoid the cops!" he wrote.

West Vancouver police put out a press release Monday morning acknowledging the incident and the social media frenzy it has resulted in.

Though none of the riders in the video have come forward to complain directly to police, the department has been looking into the incident since before the video was posted, according to Const. Jeff Palmer, WVPD spokesman.

"Regardless of that, we would be undertaking a review of (whether) the actions (were) compliant with policies and procedures," he said.

Officers responded to the area only after someone called in to complain about the longboarders. The riders did get ticketed, Palmer said.

"Whatever the result of the reviews is, we'll be notifying the public," Palmer added. "It's an issue of public concern.