B.C. watchdog: five police-injury cases not serious harm

British Columbia’s police watchdog closed five investigations between Oct. 13 and Oct. 26 after concluding that injuries suffered by people during police contact did not meet the threshold of serious harm under the Police Act.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) investigates incidents involving officers or detention guards that result in serious harm or death. In each of the cases below, the chief civilian director reviewed the evidence and determined the injuries fell short of that threshold, which ends the IIO’s involvement. The IIO’s media releases describe each case.

The most recent, announced on Oct. 26, concerns a man arrested by Victoria police at a liquor store in a commercial plaza in the 170-block of Wilson Street around 3 p.m. on June 7. He was taken to the police department. The IIO said the man notified it on July 6 that he had been injured during the arrest. Investigators reviewed police reports, a written statement from the man, medical records, CCTV video and radio transmissions (IIO 2026-152).

On Oct. 22, the IIO closed its probe of an arrest in Sooke on March 23. Sooke RCMP officers were called around 6:30 p.m. to a residence in the Otter Point area to ask a man to leave at the owner’s request. The IIO said the man refused, an interaction with officers followed, and he was injured before being arrested and taken to the detachment. The IIO was notified three days later and reviewed police reports, medical records, body-worn camera and CCTV video, photographs and radio transmissions (IIO 2026-074).

Also on Oct. 22, the office concluded its investigation into the arrest of a woman in the Westbank area of West Kelowna on Sept. 8. Two RCMP officers responded around 6:30 p.m. to a report that a woman appeared intoxicated and was causing a disturbance at a business in the 3700-block of Boucherie Road. The IIO reviewed body-worn camera video, medical records, police reports and photographs (IIO 2026-229).

On Oct. 21, the IIO closed a case from Port Alberni involving a woman who was injured while in police cells in May. The IIO said there was an interaction between the woman and RCMP officers. She notified the IIO on May 6, 2026, and investigators reviewed police reports, her statement, medical records, CCTV and photographs (IIO 2026-101).

The earliest of the five, announced on Oct. 13, involved an arrest in Revelstoke on Aug. 2. Revelstoke RCMP received a report shortly after 2:30 p.m. of an unresponsive man seated in the driver’s seat of a white Jeep Cherokee with Alberta plates parked off Highway 1 near Albert Canyon. The IIO said officers found the man asleep, he then tried to drive away, and he was arrested and taken to police cells. Investigators reviewed police reports, medical records and photographs (IIO 2026-182).

None of the releases names the people involved or describes the injuries. A finding that injuries are not serious harm under the Police Act is not a finding on whether the force used was appropriate, and complaints about police conduct can still go to the relevant police complaint body.

The IIO also closed a separate case on Oct. 21, in which it found no police link to a man’s death in a Vancouver collision. In Ontario, the Special Investigations Unit published similar decisions, including clearing Ottawa officers after a man fell from a garage rail.

RCMP logo, file photo.

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