VPD Chief Constable's Citation: Saving the Life of an Armed Man
Channel: Vancouver Police Department
Date: 15/03/2019

Early in the morning on July 29, 2018, several 9-1-1 calls reported that a man, covered in blood, had stabbed a dog. Sergeant Al Kuniss was the first to arrive at the intersection of West 4th Avenue and Yew Street, where he saw the shirtless man, armed with a knife. He did not know at the time that the man had earlier stabbed his roommate as he slept.

Sergeant Kuniss challenged the man at gunpoint, but his commands were ignored.

When Constable Vincent Martin arrived, Sergeant Kuniss and the man were locked in a violent struggle. Constable Martin deployed the beanbag shotgun, but it had no effect. He joined the sergeant in tackling the man, who was still violently resisting, to the ground.
Constables Kam Liddar and Peter Swan arrived, and jumped in to help. As the officers finally gained control, they were surprised to discover the man had a self-inflected stab wound in the centre of his chest.

Constable Swan immediately applied pressure to the wound, and assisted the medics from the Emergency Response Team, Constables Andrew Penner and Bryan Spencer, with life-saving first aid. They later learned at the hospital that the wound had punctured the man’s heart and would have been fatal if he had not been treated at the scene. 

A Community Safety Officer took the dog to a nearby vet for life-saving treatment.

For their courage and determination in stopping an armed and dangerous man, and for saving his life, the following officers were awarded the Chief Constable’s Citation: Sergeant Al Kuniss, and Constables Kam Liddar, Vincent Martin, Andrew Penner, Bryan Penner, and Peter Swan.