IIO is Seeking Witnesses to a June Arrest in Victoria (2026-152)

Case: 2026-152 Incident Date: June 7, 2026 Agency: Municipal Location: Victoria Detachment: Victoria Police Department Incident Classification: Serious Harm Case Status: Open - Investigation in Progress

INFORMATION BULLETIN
Independent Investigations Office
For Immediate Release

Surrey, B.C. — The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) is seeking witnesses to the arrest of a man in Victoria on June 7, 2026.

Preliminary information provided by the Victoria Police Department states that around 3 p.m., officers were at a liquor store in a commercial plaza in the 170-block of Wilson Street to arrest a man who was not permitted to be there.

Officers arrested the man and took him to the police department.

On July 6, 2026, the IIO was notified about the incident by the man who had been arrested, alleging he had suffered an injury during the arrest.

The IIO has now started an investigation and is asking any witnesses – including anyone who may have video – to contact IIO investigators, either online, by phone or by email.

There are two factors that the IIO considers at the beginning of each investigation:

  1. If there has been an injury that meets the threshold of serious harm, as defined by the Police Act, or a death; and
  2. 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 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.
info@iiobc.ca

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