IIO Seeks Witnesses to Incident Resulting in Injuries of a Woman in Vancouver (2023-314)
Case: 2023-314 Incident Date: August 12, 2023 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 investigating the circumstances surrounding a woman’s injuries during her arrest in Vancouver.
At about 5:00 a.m. on August 12, 2023, a woman was arrested by members of the Vancouver Police Department at a hotel in the 400 block of Howe Street in Vancouver.
The IIO was notified of the incident by the woman on October 19, 2023 and initial investigative steps have focused on examining whether the woman sustained serious harm as defined by the Police Act, and whether that harm is connected to police actions during her arrest.
The investigation continues and will determine whether any force used during the arrest was necessary, reasonable, and proportionate under the circumstances.
The IIO is asking any person who observed the arrest between 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on August 12, 2023 or with other relevant information about the incident to please contact the IIO via the Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or using 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.