Chief Civilian Director Releases Jurisdiction in Whistler

INFORMATION BULLETIN
Independent Investigations Office
For Immediate Release

SURREY – The Chief Civilian Director has released jurisdiction over an officer involved incident that occurred in Whistler. After his review of the preliminary investigation, the CCD has determined there was no relationship (or nexus) between the death of the affected person and the actions of the officers. (2015-009)

On January 20, 2015, officers from the Whistler RCMP responded to a disturbance at a local hotel. The complaint had originated as a noise complaint however had reportedly escalated to a physical altercation between the affected person and another individual. According to 911 recordings, at approximately 3:17 a.m., the other individual was reportedly on top of the affected person and the affected person had stopped struggling.

When officers arrived, they located the affected person. They initially applied handcuffs to the affected person however when officers observed him in distress and unresponsive, the handcuffs were removed. Officers and a civilian who was a guest at the hotel initiated CPR until Emergency Health Services arrived and took over. Unfortunately, the affected person did not survive his injuries and was pronounced deceased at 4:48 a.m.

The IIO was notified at 6:35 a.m. The team was deployed to Whistler where standard investigative activities took place focussing on the actions of the officers. IHIT remained responsible for the concurrent investigation into the actions of the other individual.

The IIO investigation found no nexus between the physical injuries received by the affected person and the actions of the officers. In order for the IIO to sustain jurisdiction, the Chief Civilian Director must be satisfied that a person died or was seriously injured AND that there was a relationship (or nexus) to an officer’s actions. In this case, that test was not met and as such, the CCD has released jurisdiction and has no further interest.

Contact:
Kellie.Kilpatrick@iiobc.ca