IIO finds no police link to Vancouver Canada Place death

British Columbia’s police watchdog says there is no connection between the actions of Vancouver police officers and the death of a man in a collision at Canada Place on Sept. 11.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) announced on Oct. 21 that it had concluded its investigation into the fatal collision, which it catalogued as case 2026-223. The chief civilian director reviewed the evidence and determined that there was no connection between police actions or inaction and the man’s death, the IIO said in its news release.

According to the IIO, Vancouver Police Department officers attempted to speak to a man seated in the driver’s seat of a vehicle on the 1000-block of Canada Place, in the downtown core, shortly after 3 p.m. on Sept. 11. The officers believed the man was involved in a police investigation. The collision followed, and the man died.

The IIO said it was notified of the incident shortly afterwards and began an investigation. Its investigators collected video footage, police reports, radio transmissions and medical documentation, which the chief civilian director reviewed before reaching the conclusion that the IIO has now closed the file.

The release does not identify the man who died, and the IIO did not describe the circumstances of the collision beyond what is summarized above.

The IIO is the civilian agency that investigates all incidents involving officers or detention guards in British Columbia that result in serious harm or death, whether or not anyone alleges wrongdoing. That means a death can trigger an IIO investigation even when the agency ultimately finds police had no role in it, as it did here.

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit performs a similar function. Its recent decisions include clearing a Kingston officer who hit a car at 130 km/h on a call and clearing a Timmins officer after a man’s rib fractures.

Pictured: Vancouver police file photo.

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