IIO Seeks Witnesses to an Arrest in Vancouver (2025-011)
Case: 2025-011 Incident Date: January 9, 2025 Agency: Municipal Location: Vancouver Detachment: Vancouver Police Department Incident Classification: Serious Harm Case Status: Open - Investigation in ProgressINFORMATION BULLETIN
Independent Investigations Office
For Immediate Release
Surrey, B.C. — The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) is seeking witnesses to an arrest in Vancouver where one man was injured.
Information provided by the Vancouver Police Department states that at about 7:55 p.m. on January 9, 2025, officers saw a man, the affected person, enter a business in the 2000 block of W 4th Avenue. The man was known by the officers to have outstanding warrants for his arrest and is alleged to have stolen items from the store.
When the man exited the store, he was told by police that he was under arrest. During the interaction that followed, the man was injured by a police service dog. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening injury.
The IIO was notified of the incident shortly after it occurred and has commenced an investigation. Initial investigative steps will seek to confirm if the man’s injury meets the definition of serious harm, as defined by the Police Act. If serious harm is established, further investigation will examine whether the officer’s actions during the arrest were necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in the circumstances.
The IIO is asking that any witnesses that have not already provided a statement, or who have other 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.