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Police Complaints Commission notified after Vancouver cop caught on video punching cyclist

A Vancouver officer is being questioned about his use of force on a man in police custody

You've probably heard the term "situational awareness," favoured in the military and other services such as fire departments and police. It boils down to knowing what's going on around you.

Cops need it to ensure they aren't dangerously surprised when they'e dealing with some incident. But ever since the 1991 beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers, they've also needed to be increasingly aware that their actions could be recorded.

The Vancouver officer arresting an admittedly upset Andi Shae Akhavan apparently forgot that when he chose to punch the misbehaving cyclist in the face while trying to put him in cuffs late Tuesday evening.

Akhavan's arrest, for cycling through a red light in Vancouver's busy Yaletown district, not having a headlight and not wearing a helmet, was caught on video and posted on YouTube, racking up more than 6,500 views so far.

[ Related: Infamous Montreal police officer 'Constable 728' caught on video for 2nd time ]

The video starts with Akhavan being braced by two officers as one tries to cuff his wrists behind his back. As Akhavan half turns to talk to him, his arm slips from the officer's grasp. The move earns him a left hook on the chin.

"What the hell was that?" says the bystander, a friend of Akhavan, recording the encounter. "That is going on TV right there."

The cops sit Akhavan on the curb and he asks why he was punched.

"Because you was resisting," the officer, who has an English accent, said. "Because you pulled your arm away. I told you not to resist."

Akhavan admitted to CTV News he wasn't complying quietly.

“I asked is there better things to be doing than giving tickets,” Akhavan said. “I might have used some words I wouldn’t use on TV, but it was in a completely civil manner.”

The police department said the officer reported the incident to a supervisor and that B.C.'s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner would be notified. The officer was put on leave but Akhavan, who was treated by a paramedic for a cut lip and had himself checked out at the hospital, said he wants him suspended or fired.

One of the most notorious previous incidents caught on video was as the case of Sandy Davidsen, a disabled woman shoved to the ground by a passing officer on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Const. Taylor Robinson claimed Davidsen, who has cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and arthritis, was trying to grab his pistol as she brushed between him and two other officers. The encounter in 2010 was caught on a nearby security camera.

Robinson was docked a day's pay after an internal review found him guilty of abuse of authority and neglect of duty. But an assault charge was stayed by the Crown.

[ Related: Woman pushed to ground by officer gets human rights hearing ]

And of course, who can forget Montreal's "Constable 728," caught not once but twice on video abusing the citizenry.

Const. Stephanie Trudeau was suspended from the force and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after pepper-spraying bystanders during one of last year's student demonstrations and later that year putting a man in a headlock after he questioned police for arresting a friend drinking beer outside his apartment.