Latest news with #IndependentInvestigationsOffice
CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
3 dead after police incident in Maple Ridge: IIO
B.C.'s police watchdog has confirmed it is investigating an incident in Maple Ridge during which three people died Wednesday night. Two people were reportedly dead before police arrived around 11 p.m., and a third died of apparent self-inflicted injury, according to the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. Witnesses have reported a large police presence at a home in the area of 239 Street and 118 Avenue. Police have yet to provide any information about what happened. The IIO investigates all incidents involving police that result in death or serious harm, regardless of whether there are allegations of wrongdoing. This is a developing story and will be updated.
CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
3 dead in Maple Ridge, B.C., 1 involving self-inflicted injury: police watchdog
Social Sharing B.C.'s police watchdog says three people are dead after an overnight incident in Maple Ridge, with one death involving a self-inflicted injury. Spokeswoman Rebecca Whalen with the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. said RCMP reported that two people were dead before officers arrived. One person subsequently died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted injury. Whalen said police arrived at the residential area just before 11 p.m. Wednesday night. She said she could not yet release further details.
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.
