No grounds for charges in death of man who ran into traffic on B.C. highway: police watchdog

VANCOUVER -- In a report on a fatal incident about six months ago in Port Coquitlam, B.C.'s police watchdog says he will not be forwarding the matter to the Crown for charges.

The chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office released his report Thursday into the death of a man on Dec. 22.

Ron MacDonald's eight-page report outlines what witnesses and evidence suggest happened that Sunday afternoon when police were called to the scene.

The report suggests the incident began around 5 p.m. Police arrived at the man's home to arrest him, and the man, who has not been publicly identified, fled down a hill and out onto a highway.

Witnesses told the IIO the man was chased by a police officer who happened to be on duty near the Mary Hill Bypass at the time, and saw something moving in the brush north of the highway.

That officer told IIO investigators he saw the man trying to flag down passing vehicles, one of which nearly hit him as he stood in traffic.

The officer turned on his emergency lights and got out of his cruiser, then called to the man.

But, the officer reported, the man ran farther along the highway and into traffic.

The officer ran after him, yelling, as vehicles stopped on the roadway and the man ran between them.

The officer described the man as appearing "confused and 'almost fearful.'" The officer said the man was saying he needed help, and had what appeared to be blood on his face and clothes.

At one point, the officer almost had the man, but he jumped over the concrete divider into eastbound traffic, which the IIO report says was moving at normal speed.

The officer said the man he'd been chasing was almost hit by two vehicles, then jumped back on the other side of the highway.

It is alleged the man tried unsuccessfully to get into a stopped vehicle, then ran to another and opened the rear passenger side door.

The woman inside screamed, the officer said, encouraging him to "redouble" his efforts.

The IIO report says the officer grabbed the man by the back of his neck and shirt and pulled him out of the SUV, but the man then shoved the officer.

Video from a dashboard camera in the officer's cruiser corroborates his story, the IIO says. He can be heard yelling, and the man can be heard saying, "Please help me."

A person who appears to be the man can be seen in the video pushing another person, who is assumed to be the officer. The woman's screams can also be heard in the video, the IIO report says.

A witness was asked about the series of events. The person identified as Civilian Witness 1 (CW1) in the report said they'd been watching from a vehicle stopped in the area, and that they believed the officer "was just trying really hard to do the right thing and to help this guy."

The witness intervened, holding the man against the hood of a vehicle, as requested by the officer involved.

"On the police equipment audio, CW1 can be heard saying calmly, 'Just relax, just relax, it's over buddy, it's over,'" the report says.

The officer is heard in the recording asking another civilian to grab the man's legs, and told the IIO that at that point, they were able to pull the man onto the ground.

These moments are described in the IIO report as "considerable difficulties."

The recording went on, the IIO report said, and the man can be heard asking for help and saying he's being hurt. The report describes the man as being "clearly panicked," as CW1 tells him if he relaxes he'll be able to breathe, and the officer asks him to lie on his stomach.

The autopsy report, the IIO says, explains the man couldn't breathe due to health conditions, not use of force from police. He'd been taking medications for a heart condition, and another police officer told the IIO he'd taken an "unknown quantity of cocaine" shortly before the incident played out.

Two other officers came to help, and the man was handcuffed face down on the road, the report says.

The man was struggling, police told the IIO, so he was being restrained by the second and third officer.

"For about a minute after the subject officers' vehicles arrived, (the man) can be heard repeatedly saying, 'I can't breathe,' and officers can be heard trying to reassure him, telling him, 'It's going to be okay,'" the report says.

The officer who'd chased after him on the road acknowledged the man said he couldn't breathe, but told the IIO that it would have been unsafe at that point to move him, because he was still trying to pull away.

At one point, however, the man became unresponsive, and an ambulance was called to the scene.

Life-saving efforts were made, but the man was pronounced dead.

His cause of death was ruled as polysubstance toxicity (in this case, cocaine and methadone), but there were other contributing factors.

He had high blood pressure and plaque buildup in his arteries, the autopsy report said, and his heart was enlarged.

The IIO is called in any case of death or serious harm during which police are present. In this case, investigators were asked to look at whether any officer at the scene used unauthorized or excessive force, causing the man's death.

MacDonald wrote it was clear the first officer was acting lawfully, and was justified in what force he did use.

He felt the same about the other two officers, who had to hold the man still to allow for a weapons search.

"There is no evidence that anything more than this necessary and reasonable degree of force was applied," the report says.

The autopsy report also indicated the man's cause of death wasn't related to police actions.

"It was (the man's) underlying heart conditions and the consumption of illicit substances. These factors would undoubtedly have been amplified by the stress and exertion of the incident, but the officers cannot be blamed for that," the report says.

As such, MacDonald said he did not believe there were reasonable grounds to suggest officers committed an offence, and the matter will not be forwarded to Crown counsel for consideration of charges.