IIO is Investigating an Incident in Surrey (2020-172)
Case: 2020-172 Incident Date: July 16, 2020 Agency: RCMP Location: Surrey Detachment: Surrey Incident Classification: Death Case Status: Closed - Without Public ReportINFORMATION BULLETIN
Independent Investigations Office
For Immediate Release
Surrey, B.C. – The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC is investigating an incident in Surrey.
Information provided by the RCMP indicates that on July 16, 2020 at approximately 6:20 p.m., officers observed a man entering a construction site in the 9800-block of Whalley Boulevard and attempted to speak to him. The man, the affected person in this case, continued onto the site and climbed to the top of a crane.
Following several hours of attempted negotiations, the man fell from the crane and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The IIO will investigate to determine what role, if any, the officers’ actions or inaction may have played in the death of the man. The BC Coroners Service is also conducting an independent investigation to determine how, where, when and by what means he came to his death.
The IIO is asking that any person who has video of the incident to contact the IIO 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 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.
If you are in need of help, here are some available mental health resources:
- If you are in crisis, call 310-6789 to be connected to the crisis center nearest you (an area code is not needed)
- Crisis Services Canada
- British Columbia: crisislines.bc.ca
- Vancouver and surrounding areas: crisiscentre.bc.ca
- Vancouver Island: vicrisis.ca
- VictimLinkBC – Call 1-800-563-0808