IIO called after police shoot, injure man in B.C. Interior

A crew from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. is seen in this file photo from the office's website. (iiobc.ca)

Police in B.C.'s Interior shot and injured a man in Louis Creek, near Barriere, on Friday night.

The Independent Investigations Office – which is tasked with looking into all incidents involving police officers 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 – has been notified.

In a news release, Mounties said officers from the Barriere RCMP detachment were called to the 2900 block of Highway 5 "for a report that a man had been dropped off on the side of the road and picked up what appeared to be a weapon."

Neither the RCMP nor the IIO said what kind of weapon the man allegedly had.

Both agencies said "an interaction" between the man and officers led police to fire their weapons. The man suffered gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital. The officers involved were not injured.

Mounties said they would not release any more information on the incident, citing the IIO investigation.

The IIO is asking anyone who has relevant information on the incident to contact its witness line at 1-855-446-8477 or use the contact form on its website.