Two Canadian police officers who were seen taking photos in front of a dead body have been reassigned while an investigation continues, according to CBC.
The two officers were allegedly caught on Feb. 24 by a videographer, Zachary Ratcliffe, who witnessed the duo laughing and taking photos with a dead man on a Vancouver Beach, according to CBC.
“I saw what I immediately thought was a body,” Ratcliffe said. The body was apparently uncovered, according to CityNews.
“The officers were giggling, and laughing,” Ratcliffe said, according to the report. “I was incensed. I couldn’t believe it. I could hear the snickering, the laughing, so I just kept recording.” (RELATED: Man Posts The Body Of Dead Teenager On Social Media)
Two Vancouver police officers will have their conduct probed, after one was filmed taking pictures of the other next to a dead body at Third Beach in Stanley Park.https://t.co/QRAWs5AfPb
— Global BC (@GlobalBC) February 26, 2021
The Vancouver Police Department said on Tuesday that the officers were both reassigned, according to CBC.
“As of [Monday] morning, under Section 110 of the Police Act, the VPD has reassigned the two officers to non-deployable, administrative positions while the … investigation is ongoing,” Simi Heer, Director of Public Affairs for the Vancouver Police Department, said, according to CBC.
“Any change in this status, will depend on the outcome of the OPCC investigation,” she added.
The VPD said the man’s death was not considered suspicious and that the two officers were dispatched to the beach to secure the scene for the coroner, according to CBC.