Charges laid against two off-duty officers

Firoz Khan, who was allegedly beaten by three off-duty police officers while delivering newspapers in Vancouver last week pauses as he speaks with the media at his home in Surrey, B.C., on Tuesday January 27, 2009. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

Charges have been laid against two off-duty B.C. police officers who were allegedly involved in the beating and robbery of a delivery truck driver in downtown Vancouver last week.

Jeffrey Roger Klassen, a 38-year-old New Westminster constable, is charged with assault.

West Vancouver Const. Griffin Gillan is charged with robbery.

Both officers are due to appear in court on Feb. 9, according to Vancouver police spokesperson Tim Fanning. A second charge of possession of stolen property against Klassen was not approved by the crown.

A 28-year-old Delta officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident by Vancouver Police, but will face a Police Act investigation over his involvement in the incident.

Surrey resident Firoz "Phil" Khan, 47, was dropping off newspapers to pay boxes and local hotels in the 600-block of Burrard Street early on Jan. 21, when he claims he was kicked and beaten by the three off-duty police officers. He says the officers stole his cellphone and $200 from his wallet.

Vancouver police say evidence suggests the Delta officer may have been trying to stop the beating.

Khan told CTV News he believes the attack was racially motivated, and that the officers shouted "we don't like brown people" during the alleged assault.

The attack took place in front of a taxi driver who took two of the officers from the Roxy nightclub to the location near the Hyatt Hotel. Two City of Vancouver employees, Meatr Chima and Phil Pilon, also witnessed the assault and stepped in to help. They say the attack on Khan was so brutal they actually feared for his life, not to mention their own.

Speaking from his Surrey home last week, Khan says one of the only reasons he's alive is because the two city workers stopped to help.

"Thank God there was a lot of city workers that I know that clean the streets in downtown Vancouver," he said.

He said he had suffered serious injuries to his head and internal injuries after the attack. He also lost a filling and chipped a tooth.

With files from The Canadian Press