IIO Concludes Investigation into an Incident in Nanaimo (2020-180)
Case: 2020-180 Incident Date: September 18, 2019 Detachment: Nanaimo Location: Nanaimo 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 an investigation into an incident in Nanaimo.
On September 18, 2019 at approximately 1:10 p.m., an officer noted a man driving a stolen vehicle in a residential area on Highview Terrace heading towards Haliburton Street. Two other nearby officers used their police cruisers to block the road ahead and once the vehicle stopped, they removed the man from the vehicle and took him to the ground to place him in handcuffs. This included pulling the man from the vehicle after he failed to exit on his own. The man was transported to RCMP detachment cells without further incident.
The IIO was notified of the incident and commenced an investigation on July 29, 2020.
If an officer is acting as required or authorized by the law, on reasonable grounds, they are justified in using as much force as necessary. As corroborated by independent witnesses of the arrest, the force used to remove the man from the stolen vehicle and arrest him was both reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances. In addition, Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) recordings from the RCMP detachment show the man moving around without issue or overt injury, and no force was used after the arrest.
The IIO’s Chief Civilian Director has reviewed the evidence – including detachment CCTV, medical information, a statement from the affected person, and statements from two independent civilian witnesses – and determined that there is no evidence to consider that any officer may have committed any offence during the course of the interaction. It should also be noted that the injuries sustained by the man do not meet the threshold of serious harm as defined by the Police Act. The investigation is therefore 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.