Latest news with #IndependentInvestigationsOffice
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
RCMP may need to review training involving Indigenous people, B.C. watchdog says
British Columbia's police watchdog says RCMP policy or training may need to change to better respond to calls involving Indigenous people after complaints that police actions were more forceful than necessary. The assessment comes in a report released this month about the suicide of an Indigenous man in Williams Lake, B.C., who died during a standoff with Mounties in July 2022. The Independent Investigations Office report says there was no evidence that racism was a factor, but the man's family and community members raised 'significant concerns' about the level of police response and ongoing discrimination by the Williams Lake RCMP. The report says the case doesn't meet the bar for a charge assessment but it 'raises bigger questions' about how police approached the situation involving an Indigenous person in a mental health crisis. It says a report to police of a man with a loaded gun prompted the emergency response team to attend, 25 officers were involved in the call and had used tear gas to try and draw him out, but he was found dead a short time later. The office's chief civilian director Jessica Berglund says in the report that she'll be referring the file to the RCMP and the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for their assessment on whether changes to policy or training are necessary. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
RCMP may need to review training involving Indigenous people, B.C. watchdog says
SURREY – British Columbia's police watchdog says RCMP policy or training may need to change to better respond to calls involving Indigenous people after complaints that police actions were more forceful than necessary. The assessment comes in a report released this month about the suicide of an Indigenous man in Williams Lake, B.C., who died during a standoff with Mounties in July 2022. The Independent Investigations Office report says there was no evidence that racism was a factor, but the man's family and community members raised 'significant concerns' about the level of police response and ongoing discrimination by the Williams Lake RCMP. The report says the case doesn't meet the bar for a charge assessment but it 'raises bigger questions' about how police approached the situation involving an Indigenous person in a mental health crisis. It says a report to police of a man with a loaded gun prompted the emergency response team to attend, 25 officers were involved in the call and had used tear gas to try and draw him out, but he was found dead a short time later. The office's chief civilian director Jessica Berglund says in the report that she'll be referring the file to the RCMP and the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for their assessment on whether changes to policy or training are necessary. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025.
CTV News
7 days ago
- CTV News
Man dies in Vancouver police custody; watchdog called in
Investigators from B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office are seen in this file photo from the IIO. A man who was arrested by the Vancouver police died in custody Wednesday, according to the department and B.C.'s police watchdog. The 49-year-old man was taken from police cells to hospital around 10 a.m. after 'suffering an apparent medical emergency,' a news release from the Vancouver Police Department said. 'The man received medical attention at the jail and was transported to hospital, where he died,' the statement continued, adding that the Independent Investigations Office was notified of the 'sudden death.' The IIO, in a statement of its own, said the man was arrested around 4 a.m. the same morning and transported to the VPD jail, where he arrived around 4:30 a.m. 'The man was taken to a cell, but later found unresponsive,' the IIO said. Neither agency said what the man was arrested for. The provincial watchdog will investigate if there is any connection between police action or inaction and the man's death, which it is mandated to do whether or not there are allegations of wrongdoing. The IIO's mandate does not currently allow it to probe the actions of jail guards who are not sworn officers – but that will change later this year as a result of amendments to the province's Police Act.
CTV News
14-07-2025
- CTV News
B.C. police officer who fatally shot 16-year-old driver cleared of wrongdoing
Investigators from B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office are seen in this file photo from the IIO. An RCMP officer who shot and killed a 16-year-old pickup driver in Creston did not commit an offence when using lethal force, B.C.'s police watchdog has ruled. The Independent Investigations Office released its public report on the Dec. 14, 2022, incident last week, shedding light on the events that lead to the teenager's death. The interaction began at 4:23 a.m., when one officer noticed a pickup truck running stop signs and driving erratically, according to the IIO. After the truck sped past a second officer and blew through another stop sign, police made a plan to pursue it. Two officers followed tracks in the snow along the highway and then onto a residential street, where they found the truck, which was reportedly stolen several hours prior. When he saw the officers, the teenager, referred to as the 'affected person' or AP, turned into a driveway in front of them. The officer who fired the shots, referred to as the 'subject officer' or SO, followed. The other Mountie's vehicle captured the incident on video. 'As the SO stepped out of the driver's door of his police vehicle and stood next to (it), the AP's pickup truck accelerated and drove towards the SO, scraping along the driver's side of the SO's police vehicle and nearly running over the SO, who had drawn his gun,' the report reads. 'The SO moved backwards along the side of his vehicle to avoid being hit. As the SO did this, he fired his gun towards the driver's area of the AP's pickup truck which continued forward and then collided with WO2's vehicle.' Forensic analysis determined the Mountie fired eight shots in rapid succession, and the final shot went through the driver's window and hit AP as he drove by. The SO then said over radio, 'Shots by police. Shots by police. Suspect vehicle, black Chev pickup. Tried to run me over,' according to the report. The pickup truck drove off, and police found it crashed in a ditch two kilometres away at 4:47 a.m. The IIO said it found 'information to suggest' that a passenger who was in the truck took over driving after AP was shot, but the individual did not respond to investigators' interview requests. Officers removed the now-unconscious AP from the vehicle and performed life-saving measures, which were continued by paramedics for about 45 minutes, the report says. The teenager was declared deceased at 5:45 a.m. An autopsy found he died of a single gunshot wound to the torso. In cases of lethal force, the IIO's chief civilian director is tasked with determining whether an officer's actions were lawful, based on the threat posed by the 'affected person' and 'whether, in the words of the Criminal Code, it gave reasonable grounds for the officers to believe lethal force was 'necessary for the self-preservation of (the officer) or the preservation of anyone under (the officer's) protection from death of grievous bodily harm,'' according to the agency. In the report, chief civilian director Jessica Berglund said based on the video and evidence from the witness officer, it was 'objectively reasonable' for the SO to believe the AP's driving posed a threat of death or grievous harm. 'Based on reaction times and the physiological processes involved in firing a weapon, it was reasonable for the SO to continue firing the gun until he reasonably believed he was out of danger,' she wrote. 'It was reasonable for the SO to believe that AP's driving posed a risk to his life as the pickup truck drove towards him. The SO fired his gun to prevent the pickup from continuing its path and stopped firing believed he was out of danger.' She said the AP's intent when he drove toward the police cars – and the only exit from the dead-end driveway – is unknown, but regardless of intention it was 'objectively reasonable' for the officer to believe he was in serious danger. 'Given these considerations, it cannot be said that the SO's decision to shoot the AP was unreasonable in the circumstances,' Berglund wrote. 'Accordingly, as the chief civilian director of the IIO, I do not consider that there are reasonable grounds to believe an officer may have committed an offence under any enactment and therefore the matter will not be referred to Crown Counsel for consideration of charges.'
Global News
08-07-2025
- Global News
Homicide investigators, police watchdog at Surrey home after officer-involved shooting
Detectives from the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team and the Independent Investigations Office are in Surrey, B.C., on Tuesday morning following a police-involved shooting. The shooting happened at 195 Street and 66A Avenue. Neighbours described the scene as 'chaotic.' 'All I heard was a scuffle down the back alleyway and all of a sudden, you could hear muted shouting almost, and all of a sudden, it opened up,' neighbour John Holoiday said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Four, five, maybe six shots rang out and my garage has very thin doors so I got back in the house as fast as I could.' Holoiday said that the people who live in the home are a nice older Filipino couple. 'I talk to them occasionally; they're friendly enough,' he said. Story continues below advertisement 'Always say hi to them. My stepmom is Filipino so I always say some Filipino words to them here and there and they seem to enjoy it. They seem really friendly.' Police have not released any further details about the shooting at this time.
