No connection between police response, man's death near Vancouver Island trail: IIO
B.C.'s police watchdog has finished its investigation into an incident on Vancouver Island, concluding the actions of officers weren't connected to a man's death.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. began looking into the incident last month, after a body was found near a trail south of Parksville, in the Little Mountain area on March 24.
At the time, the IIO said a bystander found a man "lying in a secluded area of brush" away from the trail. That witness called police, who "performed an extensive search based on directions from a family member of the original witness." However, they were unable to find the man.
The next day, the original witness returned to the area and saw the man was still there, so they called 911.
"Police arrived and found the man in an area below an unmarked trail, and confirmed he was deceased. This was in a different area than the one searched the previous day," the IIO's conclusion, shared Wednesday, said. "As well, it was extremely difficult to see the man given his position was well off the trail in the surrounding forest growth."
The IIO is called after all police-involved incidents that result in death or serious harm, whether or not there is an allegation of wrongdoing. In this case, the IIO's chief civilian director reviewed police statements, 911 recordings and witness statements and "determined there is no causal connection between any action or inaction of an officer" and the man's death.
The IIO said the provincial coroner is continuing its own investigation related to how the man died.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.