Black Man Gets Accused of Theft at the Gas Station. Then Police Refuse to Press Charges After He Was Allegedly Assaulted: ‘This Is Not Fair’
He wasn't able to press charges.
A man claimed he was accused of theft and later assaulted when he stopped by a gas station located in Vancouver, Canada. He contacted the police to report the alleged assault; however, the man was left feeling aggrieved when the officers refused to press charges, citing a lack of evidence.
The incident was shared in a series of videos posted on Aug. 30 by Dhextrus (@778gad) on Instagram. According to Dhextrus, the incident began when a woman falsely accused him of stealing her phone off the counter at a convenience store, which Dhextrus claimed was his and that their phones just looked similar.
In one of his videos, the woman can be heard in the background, seemingly trying to chase down Dhextrus when he left the store. “Help! Give it to me! That’s mine!” the woman shouted. A few seconds later, a man can be seen confronting Dhextrus and allegedly attacking him.
Police say there’s no evidence
Dhextrus said he called the police during the altercation and claimed that the man “had punched” him while he was walking away. According to his video, the responding officers refused to press charges against the man who allegedly attacked him after the theft allegation was dropped.
“I walked away, and the guy came, [and] chased me and punched me, bro,” Dhextrus said. “And you guys are saying I can’t press [charges]? Jesus Christ. What kind of system is this?”
The officer explained that there was no “outward evidence” of the alleged assault happening to Dhextrus caught on video. Dhextrus asked the officer if his own word doesn’t carry any weight, to which the officer said it’s not evidence.
“It doesn’t count for evidence, no. It would count as backing if we had some video evidence of it, for sure,” the officer said. “But we don’t. […] So, it’s an allegation.”
Dhextrus tried to get the officers to review CCTV footage of the incident. However, the officers claimed that “third-party witnesses” denied that an assault had happened, which is why they couldn’t investigate the allegation.
Dhextrus can’t press charges in Canada
Feeling frustrated, Dhextrus claimed that the entire situation would have been handled differently had he, as a Black man, been the one to attack other people. “I’m just upset, cause this is not fair. This is not fair,” he said. “Because I know if I’d put my hand on that lady, you guys would charge me. If I was the one who put my hand on anyone here, I would be charged.”
Viewers were unsurprised by how the officers handled Dhextrus’ complaint, given how Black people have been treated by police in recent years. In a separate incident, a Black man claimed he was pulled over by police because of his skin color.
Some pointed out the seemingly contradictory claims the officer made when it came to testimonies: “He literally said your word doesn’t count as evidence, but then goes on to rely on third parties saying you weren’t assaulted. So how does a third party’s verbal account of the incident suddenly count as evidence? If your account is dismissed because it’s ‘just your word,’ then why should their accounts be treated differently?”
Many others urged Dhextrus to sue the people involved and the police. “Sue the police department fam,” a commenter wrote. Another said, “Sue everybody!!!!!!!!!!! Get a lawyer now.”
Unlike in the US, private citizens can’t press charges in Canada. According to the Department of Justice, victims would need to contact the police. If police find there are reasonable grounds that an offense has been committed, then they and the Crown prosecution can pursue a criminal charge.
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