A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ordered a new trial for a Vancouver police officer who was convicted of assault for punching a bicyclist in the face during an arrest in March 2013.

Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen found that the judge in Const. Ismail Bhabha's original trial failed to give proper consideration to the possibility he was acting lawfully in trying to place handcuffs on the man.

The original incident garnered headlines because the punch was caught on camera by the cyclist's friend and put on social media.

Bhabha was given a conditional discharge and ordered to complete 15 hours community service.

According to the higher court ruling, the Surrey provincial court judge who found Bhabha guilty did so after deciding the handcuff arrest itself was unjustified, because the cyclist had identified himself and was being compliant, if rude.

As such, the original judge found that even if the cyclist had been resisting, the punch amounted to assault because Bhabha should not have been trying to restrain the cyclist in the first place.

But in his appeal, Bhabha argued that was a misinterpretation of the law. The officer claimed he was entitled to arrest or detain the cyclist in order to confirm his identity, and he was allowed to handcuff him to ensure officer safety.

The video, posted on Facebook, was shared thousands of times and led to calls on social media for Bhabha to be fired.

However, Vancouver police Chief Const. Adam Palmer defended Bhabha, saying he should be judged on the totality of his record and not the actions of one moment.