IIO is Seeking Witnesses to an Incident in Victoria (2025-193)

Surrey, B.C. — The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) is seeking witnesses to an incident in Victoria that occurred yesterday (August 1, 2025) afternoon.

Information provided by the Victoria Police Department states that at around 3:45 p.m., officers responded to a call near the intersection of Douglas Street and Pandora Avenue. Callers to 911 reported a man reportedly in possession of a weapon.

Police, including members of the Emergency Response Team (ERT), arrived and located the man in possession of what appeared to be a weapon. Officers then attempted to arrest the man. During the interaction, police used a method of less-lethal force to take the man into custody.

The man suffered an injury while being arrested and was 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