IIO Concludes Investigation into a February 2023 Incident in Burnaby (2023-052)
Case: 2023-052 Incident Date: February 28, 2023 Location: Burnaby Detachment: Burnaby Agency: RCMP Incident Classification: Serious Harm Case Status: Closed - Without Public ReportINFORMATION BULLETIN
Independent Investigations Office
For Immediate Release
Surrey, B.C. – The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC has concluded investigation 2023-052 into an incident in Burnaby that resulted in one man sustaining injuries.
At about 9:25 p.m. on February 27, 2023, police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance in a unit of a residential building in the 7600-block of 15th Street in Burnaby involving a man who was reported to have access to weapons. The man was located in the unit and did not comply with police commands to exit. Several attempts were made to gain the man’s compliance over the following two hours but were not successful.
Civilian witnesses confirm that at about 11:30 p.m., the man attempted to leave the building by climbing down the side from the third storey, but he fell. A Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW, or Taser) and police service dog were used to assist in taking him into custody once on the ground.
The Chief Civilian Director has reviewed the evidence – including statements from the affected person and civilian witnesses, medical information, and police records – and determined that the injuries the man sustained do not meet the threshold of serious harm, as defined by the Police Act. In addition, nearly all the man’s injuries were the result of the man’s decision to scale down the building and subsequent fall and were not directly related to police actions or inactions.
The IIO investigation is now concluded.
Background
The IIO is the independent civilian oversight agency of the police in British Columbia. It investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.