Break-in suspect injured in Vancouver police shooting; IIO investigating

Warning: The video embedded in this story contains profanity and images that may be disturbing to some viewers.

B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating what it calls a "police-involved shooting" in East Vancouver Saturday night.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says in a news release that it has been advised of the "interaction" between officers from the Vancouver Police Department and a suspect near the intersection of Commercial Drive and East 2nd Avenue.

Video of the incident posted on Reddit shows at least two VPD officers with their guns drawn, and the sound of gunshots can be heard. The person recording the video can be heard discussing the incident with someone else, saying "they just f***ing shot him." 

Steve Ramsay lives near the scene and recorded the video. He told CTV News he heard tires squealing and a crash, followed by more screeching.

When he went to his window, he saw the suspect attempting to ram police cars with his vehicle in the alley that runs parallel to Commercial Drive.

Ramsay told CTV News he saw an officer fire three shots in quick succession, and said it looked as though the officer was in danger of being run over.

Ramsay said his hands were shaking as he started recording the video just in time to capture a fourth and final shot being fired.

 In its own statement on the incident, the VPD also describes the incident as a "police-involved shooting."

The department says its officers responded to the intersection of Gore Avenue and Railway Street around 8:45 p.m. after a witness called 911 to report that someone was breaking into a building there.

While there, an officer attempted to stop a vehicle that was leaving the area.

"The driver allegedly failed to stop and drove to the area of Commercial Drive and East 2nd Avenue, where shots were fired," police say in their release.

The VPD says a 52-year-old man was injured in the incident.

He was taken to hospital, where he remains in police custody and under guard, according to police, who say the man "was armed with a gun."

Neither Ramsay nor his girlfriend Melody Johnson – who also witnessed the incident – saw the suspect's weapon, but both said they believed the officer's decision to shoot at the suspect was justified.

 

"A hundred per cent," Johnson said. "Even if (the suspect) wouldn't have hit the police officer, if he would've made it through that back alley and went onto 1st (Avenue), he would've ended up hitting somebody."

"This guy was an absolute maniac," Ramsay added.

The pair also praised the VPD and IIO officers they've interacted with since the incident, describing them as friendly and sympathetic.

Ramsay said he's witnessed other police incidents in the neighbourhood in the past.

"It's not an everyday occurrence around here, but living on the Drive 25 years in East Vancouver, I've pretty much seen it all," he said. "They're offering us victim services and counselling because we witnessed a traumatic event, but I think we're OK."

No officers were injured in the incident, but a police service dog received medical treatment, according to the VPD.

The IIO describes the suspect's injuries as "serious" and "gunshot-related."

"The IIO investigation will determine who fired shots during the incident," the agency's release reads.

The IIO is tasked with investigating all police-related incidents in B.C. that result in death or serious harm to a member of the public, regardless of whether there is an allegation of wrongdoing on the part of police.

Since late April, the office has been called to investigate three shootings involving Vancouver police officers.

The first happened on April 27, when officers responded to reports of an assault inside a home near Commercial Drive and East 5th Avenue. That incident involved "an exchange of gunfire" and left a 40-year-old suspect dead, according to police. 

The second incident happened less than two weeks later in the Downtown Eastside. In that case, officers were responding to reports of an assault with a weapon at the Patricia Hotel on East Hastings Street. When they arrived, they were "confronted" by a man in his 40s, who died at the scene after what police described as an "altercation" in which "shots were fired." 

In June, the IIO's chief civilian director Ron MacDonald told CTV News his office had seen a "dramatic increase" in the number of investigations it has had to take on in recent years. 

Anyone who witnessed Saturday night's incident is asked to call the IIO witness line at 855-446-8477 or to use the contact form on the agency's website.