Police inaction did not contribute to UBC student's death, IIO concludes

The University of British Columbia campus is seen in this aerial shot. (UBC)

An investigation into the death of a UBC student last fall has concluded that police inaction was not a factor in the incident.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C., which looks into cases of death or serious harm involving police in the province, announced its investigation earlier this month, citing new information it had received about the student's death, which happened in November. 

According to the IIO, University RCMP received a call at 10 a.m. on Nov. 14 requesting medical assistance for a male student. Officers found the injured student and provided care until paramedics arrived, but the student died in hospital on Nov. 20.

The IIO began its investigation on Feb. 6, when it learned that there were two missed calls on the student's phone from a number that displayed as the Vancouver Police Department, and that both of them had come in before 10 a.m.

The university campus is outside the jurisdiction of the VPD and is policed by the University RCMP detachment.

On Tuesday, the IIO announced that it had concluded its investigation.

"The IIO investigation confirmed that the two calls before 10 a.m. originated from E-Comm employees who are contracted by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) but are not VPD employees or police officers," reads a statement from the IIO.

"A police officer was not assigned to follow up as there were no indications of distress."

After reviewing the evidence, including information from E-Comm and police records, IIO chief civilian director Ron MacDonald determined that, because no police officer was notified prior to 10 a.m., police inaction did not contribute to the student's death, which he called "tragic."