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Two of three men charged with assaulting a Vancouver police officer Tuesday are sons of an original member of the East End Hells Angels, Postmedia has learned.

A Vancouver police officer was taken to hospital Tuesday night after he was beaten during a routine traffic stop in downtown Vancouver.

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It happened at around 10 p.m. when two plainclothes officers pulled over a Dodge Durango on Robson Street after they spotted travelling through an area of Granville Street closed to private vehicles.

The VPD says the three men in the vehicle, all in their early 20s and well-known to the police, were confrontational and verbally abusive during the traffic stop.

“The officers became concerned for their safety as the occupants refused to follow police direction and began reaching under the seat,” VPD spokesman Sgt. Jason Robillard said in a news release.

The assault began when one officer opened the passenger door and the front passenger pulled him into the vehicle and two men began punching him in the face. As the other officer rushed to help, all three men got out of the vehicle and continued to assault the officers.