Following false complaints of copyright infringement, a popular video-sharing site removed surveillance footage that shows a police officer shoving a disabled woman to the ground, says the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

“I think that the motivations for the complaints are purely political,” BCCLA executive director David Eby told the Straight today (July 23) by phone.

“It’s very clear that this is not proprietary copyright footage, that this is original footage properly in the possession of the BCCLA, which means that the complaints were motivated at having the video removed and they were successful,” he said.

In the video, three Vancouver police officers walk side by side along a busy Downtown Eastside sidewalk. As a disabled woman attempts to pass between the men, one of them appears to push her to the ground.

In news interviews, the woman has identified herself as “Sandy” and said she has cerebral palsy.

Vancouver police say the officer apologized to the woman following the June 9 incident on Hastings Street. The department’s Professional Standards Section is also investigating.

Eby said the woman obtained a copy of the footage under provincial freedom of information legislation from a non-profit housing group. She then provided the BCCLA with consent to use the video.

Eby said the clip was viewed more than 99,000 times in two days on the Vimeo site before it was removed without notice earlier today. It has now been reposted on YouTube.

Eby described the copyright complaints as problematic because the removal of the video created dead links on local news media sites.

“In our minds, that’s a free speech issue and one that we’re working with Vimeo on to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Eby said.

In disputes over copyright, Vimeo requires written notification including a signature and other contact information from the owner of the material or a representative.

“Vimeo will remove infringing materials in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act if properly notified that content infringes copyright,” reads a message on the video-sharing site.

Eby said he is seeking details about who made the complaints.