Chief Civilian Director Asserts Jurisdiction into Death in Surrey

INFORMATION BULLETIN
Independent Investigations Office
For Immediate Release
August 1, 2014

SURREY – The Independent Investigations Office of BC confirms it has now asserted jurisdiction over an in custody death that was reported earlier today.

According to the Transit Police, on July 31, at approximately 11:30 p.m., officers on foot responded to a complaint and located an adult male behaving erratically near the Surrey Central Bus loop. During the interaction, officers asked if he wanted to go to the hospital and when he said yes, they placed him in handcuffs and put him in the back of a police vehicle. Once the police vehicle arrived at the hospital, the affected person was observed to be unresponsive. Despite emergency medical care, he did not survive.

The IIO was notified just after midnight. Initially, IIO staff informed the Transit Police that the case did not appear to meet the mandate of the IIO as it did not appear that there was a nexus between the death and a police act.

The morning of August 1, the Chief Civilian Director reviewed the information provided by the Transit Police and determined that an investigation was warranted in order to establish whether or not there was a potential nexus between the death of the affected person and the actions of any police officer.  IIO investigators will be meeting with Surrey RCMP to ensure a seamless transition of jurisdiction.

Due to the preliminary stage of the investigation, the IIO will not be releasing any additional information at this time.

Contact:

Kellie Kilpatrick
Independent Investigations Office of BC

Kellie.kilpatrick@iiobc.ca

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