VPD arrests man after assault in the Downtown Eastside

The Vancouver Police Department says it has made an arrest after what they initially thought was a fight between two men in the city’s Downtown Eastside.

Officers were patrolling the area near the corner of Carrall and East Hastings Streets Thursday afternoon when they saw the men fighting.

“Upon closer investigation, officers discovered one of the men was actually defending himself from a stranger who had just assaulted him without provocation,” police said.

The VPD says 33-year-old Edison Samuel Samson has been charged with assault.

Samson, who has a history of assaults, is set to appear in court Aug. 18.

In a post on social media announcing the arrest, the VPD points to its ‘Task Force Barrage’ initiative, which was launched in February with the purported goal of targeting organized crime, street disorder, and violent offenders. In May in the department’s most recent update, it said it was completing an average of five arrests per day and had seized hundreds of weapons.

— With files from Charles Brockman.