IIO Release Jurisdiction of Incident in Vancouver (2019-235)
Case: 2019-235 Incident Date: December 29, 2019 Agency: Municipal Location: Vancouver Detachment: Vancouver Police Department Incident Classification: Death Case Status: Closed - Without Public ReportINFORMATION BULLETIN
Independent Investigations Office
For Immediate Release
Surrey – The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. has discontinued its investigation of a police-involved incident in Vancouver.
Vancouver Police Department reported that on December 29, 2019, just before 3:30 a.m., a Car2Go Smart car made off from a road check being conducted on East Hastings St. near Clark Dr. A short time later the same vehicle was seen by an officer driving at high speed, eastbound along East Hastings St. The officer completed a U turn to follow the Smart car, but lost sight of the car and did not re-locate it. Unknown to police at the time was the fact the Smart car had turned off of Hastings St. onto Renfrew St.
Approximately ten minutes later, officers received a report of a collision between a Yellow cab and the same Smart car at the intersection of 1st Avenue and Renfrew Street, Vancouver. The driver of the taxi did not survive his injuries and the IIO commenced an investigation.
The Chief Civilian Director has reviewed the information obtained during the IIO investigation, including police records and CCTV footage. While police did attempt to stop the driver at a roadcheck, no further police contact was made, and the evidence determined that the actions of police did not contribute to the collision. Police were not in the vicinity at the time of the collision and only learned of it after other emergency services arrived at the scene.
As a result, the investigation has been concluded.
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.