IIO Investigating an Arrest in Vancouver (2026-023)
Case: 2026-023 Incident Date: January 27, 2026 Agency: Municipal Location: Vancouver Detachment: Vancouver Police Department Incident Classification: Serious Harm Case Status: Open - Investigation in ProgressINFORMATION BULLETIN
Independent Investigations Office
For Immediate Release
Surrey, B.C. — The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) is investigating the arrest of a man in Vancouver on January 27, 2026.
Information provided by the Vancouver Police Department states that at around 11:30 a.m., VPD officers responded to a call about a person inside a residence near the intersection of Granville and Nelson streets throwing items out of third story window.
Officers arrived and located one man on the third floor of the building who refused to exit a unit. Police, including members of the Emergency Response Team eventually set up containment.
At around 10 p.m., officers arrested the man under the Mental Health Act. The man suffered an injury during the interaction with police and was taken to a hospital for assessment and treatment.
The IIO was notified shortly after the incident occurred and has begun an investigation.
There are two factors that the IIO considers at the beginning of each investigation:
- If there has been an injury that meets the threshold of serious harm, as defined by the Police Act, or a death; and
- If there is a connection between the serious harm/death and officer action or inaction.
If both conditions are met, the investigation will continue to examine all available evidence to determine what occurred. At the conclusion of the investigation, the chief civilian director will consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have occurred.
The IIO asks that any witnesses who have information or video footage regarding this matter to please contact the IIO at our Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.
Background
The IIO is the independent civilian oversight agency of officers and detention guards in British Columbia. It investigates all incidents involving officers or detention guards that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.