IIO is Seeking Witnesses to an Incident in Vancouver (2025-189)

Surrey, B.C. — The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) is seeking witnesses to an arrest in Vancouver that occurred on July 28, 2025.

Information provided by the Vancouver Police Department states that at around 1:30 p.m., officers responded to reports of a man stealing a package from a unit in a residential building on the 1200-block of West Cordova Street.

Police arrived and located the man inside the building, leading to an interaction where officers used force. The man was taken into custody where it was determined he had suffered injuries during the arrest.

He was then taken to a hospital for assessment and treatment.

The IIO was notified about the incident shortly after it occurred and is now investigating.

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 police 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 is asking that any witnesses that have not already provided a statement, or who have video footage of the incident, 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 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.

info@iiobc.ca