B.C. police watchdog investigating after man seriously injured in Victoria police vehicle
British Columbia's police oversight agency has opened an investigation after a man suffered a serious injury following his arrest by Victoria police last year.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says it began investigating the incident on March 6 and has since determined the man's injury appears to meet the threshold of "serious harm" under the B.C. Police Act.
The act defines "serious harm" as an injury that may result in death, serious disfigurement, or substantial loss or impairment of mobility of the body as a whole or of the function of a limb or organ.
The arrest occurred around 8 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2023, when police attended a residence on Johnson Street, between Vancouver and Cook streets, where the man and his friend were having an argument, the IIO said in a news release Tuesday.
The complainant was arrested and taken to the Victoria Police Department headquarters.
The injury, described as "serious but not life-threatening," occurred when he was being removed from the VicPD vehicle at the station, he told the police watchdog.
"The investigation continues to determine what role, if any, police actions or inaction may have played in the injury," the agency said in the release.
The IIO is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the agency by phone at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.
The IIO is an independent police watchdog that investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death in B.C., whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.
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