VANCOUVER -- British Columbia's police watchdog is investigating after police shot and killed a man in the province's Interior Tuesday night.
The incident occurred in Tappen, B.C., a small community roughly 15 kilometres northwest of Salmon Arm along the shore of Shuswap Lake.
Salmon Arm RCMP were called to a home there around 6:40 p.m. for a complaint about "severe" property damage, according to an RCMP news release.
Officers located a male suspect at a nearby residence and attempted to arrest him, but called off the attempt "due to risk," police said. They did not elaborate on the nature of this risk.
Police called in an RCMP Emergency Response Team to assist them, eventually using "a chemical agent" in an attempt to make the man leave the residence, police said.
When the man did leave the home, police said, he attempted to flee the scene, resulting in an "interaction" with a police officer, during which he was shot.
The man died. No one else was injured during the incident, according to police.
The Independent Investigations Office is now investigating police actions related to the man's death. In its own release on the matter, the office asks anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact the IIO witness line at 855-446-8477.
The IIO is a civilian oversight agency that is responsible for investigating incidents involving police officers in B.C. that result in death or serious harm, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.
