Latest news with #IIO
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
B.C. police watchdog investigating Vancouver crash that sent man to hospital
Investigators from B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office are seen in this file photo from the IIO. British Columbia's police oversight agency is investigating the actions of the Vancouver Police Department following a single-vehicle crash that sent one man to hospital over the weekend. The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says Vancouver police were called on Sunday about a Grey Toyota Echo that had been reported stolen from East Broadway, between Ontario and Quebec streets. Officers located the car around 4:30 p.m. that day, just before the car reportedly crashed in the 8100 block of Matheson Crescent, near the intersection of Southeast Marine Drive and Boundary Road. The driver was arrested at the scene and was taken to hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries. The police oversight agency was notified about the incident and has since opened an investigation into the officers' conduct. The IIO investigates all police-related incidents that result in serious harm or death in B.C., whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing by police. The agency is working to determine whether the driver's injuries meet the definition of 'serious harm,' and whether there is any connection between the injuries and police actions or inactions. 'If both conditions are met, the investigation will continue to examine all available evidence to determine what occurred,' the IIO said in a statement Wednesday. 'At the conclusion of the investigation, the chief civilian director will also consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have occurred.' Under the provincial Police Act, 'serious harm' is defined as an injury that may result in death, disfigurement or loss of function of a limb or organ. The police watchdog is asking anyone who witnessed or recorded video of the incident to contact investigators at 1-855-446-8477 or
Global News
12-06-2025
- Global News
B.C. officer should get 7-day suspension for woman's plastic bullet death, hearing finds
A Victoria police officer who fired the 'less lethal' round into a smoky apartment that struck and killed a woman six years ago should be suspended for seven days without pay, a discipline hearing has concluded. Retired judge Wally Oppal ruled in May that Sgt. Ron Kirkwood committed misconduct under the Police Act in the Christmas Day 2019 incident that left 43-year-old Lisa Rauch dead. Oppal concluded that Kirkwood was a good police officer who had made an error during a difficult call, resulting in 'catastrophic circumstances.' 2:08 Hearing into Victoria police officer's actions in 2019 death of Lisa Rauch Firing three projectiles from the ARWEN, a so-called 'less-lethal launcher,' into a room with obscured visibility was 'reckless and unnecessary,' Oppal found. Story continues below advertisement The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) ordered a public hearing into the death in 2023 on appeals from Rauch's family, who said they received inconsistent information from police and from the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) — B.C.'s civilian police watchdog. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy An IIO investigation had cleared police of criminal wrongdoing in the incident. The OPCC-ordered hearing heard that Rauch had been visiting a friend in the building and that the two had consumed alcohol and crystal meth before a fire broke out. Victoria police were called to reports that she was barricaded inside a suite and had threatened someone with a knife. The hearing heard that responding officers responded to smoke coming from the unit's window by entering the apartment, where Kirkwood fired three rounds from the ARWEN gun, striking Rauch in the head. 1:07 Vancouver police department shoot and arrest the wrong man She was knocked unconscious and never woke up. Story continues below advertisement Kirkwood told the hearing he believed Lisa posed a danger to others and that he fired the projectiles into the unit, believing he was aiming at her torso. In concluding Kirkwood had committed misconduct, Oppal ruled the sergeant should not have fired at Rauch with his vision obscured by smoke, and that that situation didn't justify potentially deadly force. He accepted that Kirwkood had not intended to kill Rauch, and that the officer felt genuine remorse. He also dismissed allegations that Kirkwood neglected his duty by failing to document his actions. A coroner's inquest into the death is still set to be scheduled in the coming months. — with files from the Canadian Press
CTV News
10-06-2025
- CTV News
Police watchdog investigating after man injured during Vancouver arrest
Investigators from B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office are seen in this file photo from the IIO. B.C.'s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, has been called in to investigate after a man was injured while being arrested over the weekend. According to an account the Vancouver Police Department provided to the IIO, officers were called to a residential building in the 700 block of East Hastings Street around 3 a.m. Saturday. Police found a man they allege was in possession of an unspecified weapon. 'Officers then used less-lethal force to take the man into custody,' a statement from the IIO issued Tuesday reads. The individual was injured during the arrest and taken to hospital for treatment, and later released, according to the IIO. Investigators say they will now determine whether the man's injuries meet the threshold of serious harm under the Police Act, and if said harm resulted from police action or inaction. 'If both conditions are met, a fulsome investigation will review all available evidence so the chief civilian director can determine if there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence has been committed,' the IIO said.
CTV News
10-06-2025
- CTV News
Crown to consider charging RCMP officer who fatally shot suspected car thief in Revelstoke, B.C.
The older sister of the man shot to death by police in Revelstoke, B.C., in August 2023 has identified him as Garry Pashe Jr., a 23-year-old father of two from Manitoba. (Mellisa Pashe) The office that investigates the use of force by police officers in B.C. has referred the case of a man shot by Mounties in Revelstoke in 2023 to the provincial prosecution service. The referral stems from an incident that occurred shortly before midnight on Aug. 27, 2023, according to a statement issued by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. on Tuesday. At that time, Revelstoke RCMP responded to a call about a stolen vehicle, and an officer located the vehicle in question on Victoria Road East, the IIO said. 'There was an interaction, and shots were fired by police,' the agency's statement reads. 'Emergency Health Services (EHS) attended, but the man who had been driving the stolen vehicle was later pronounced deceased.' The IIO investigated the incident, and chief civilian director Jessica Berglund determined that 'reasonable grounds exist to believe that one officer may have committed offences in relation to the use of force.' Berglund has now referred the matter to the B.C. Prosecution Service, which will determine whether the officer should be charged. In making its decision, the BCPS will consider whether there is a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether prosecuting the officer would be in the public interest. The IIO said it would not be making any additional comment about the facts of the case while prosecutors are deliberating. 'Whatever happened is not right' While authorities shared little information about the case on Tuesday, statements from the time of the incident shed a bit more light on the situation. In its statement days after the shooting, the B.C. RCMP alleged that there had been contact between the stolen vehicle and a police vehicle. It also said that the driver of the stolen vehicle had gotten out, led officers on 'a brief foot chase,' and then entered the police vehicle. Police said one officer fired at the man, striking him. He was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries. In the weeks after the incident, CTV News was contacted by the sister of the deceased man, who identified him as Garry Pashe Jr., a 23-year-old father of two from Manitoba. Mellisa Pashe described her youngest brother as a 'happy kid' who had come to B.C. to help a cousin move and was trying to get home in time for his son's first birthday. Pashe said she thinks he messaged her on the day before his death because he was looking for financial assistance to help him get back to Manitoba. She said she thinks that's also why he stole the car, but whatever the reason for his encounter with police that night, she's convinced it shouldn't have ended the way it did. 'It's not right,' she said. 'Whatever happened is not right.' She said her brother 'wasn't a violent person' and 'never had weapons on him.' 'They could've Tased him,' she said. 'They could've used any other kind of force other than shooting him … He was a big kid, but I think he was more scared than anything. For them to pull a gun out on him, I can just imagine his fears.'
CTV News
10-06-2025
- CTV News
IIO refers fatal 2023 Revelstoke RCMP shooting to Crown for consideration of charges
The older sister of the man shot to death by police in Revelstoke, B.C., in August 2023 has identified him as Garry Pashe Jr., a 23-year-old father of two from Manitoba. (Mellisa Pashe) The office that investigates the use of force by police officers in B.C. has referred the case of a man shot by Mounties in Revelstoke in 2023 to the provincial prosecution service. The referral stems from an incident that occurred shortly before midnight on Aug. 27, 2023, according to a statement issued by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. on Tuesday. At that time, Revelstoke RCMP responded to a call about a stolen vehicle, and an officer located the vehicle in question on Victoria Road East, the IIO said. 'There was an interaction, and shots were fired by police,' the agency's statement reads. 'Emergency Health Services (EHS) attended, but the man who had been driving the stolen vehicle was later pronounced deceased.' The IIO investigated the incident, and chief civilian director Jessica Berglund determined that 'reasonable grounds exist to believe that one officer may have committed offences in relation to the use of force.' Berglund has now referred the matter to the B.C. Prosecution Service, which will determine whether the officer should be charged. In making its decision, the BCPS will consider whether there is a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether prosecuting the officer would be in the public interest. The IIO said it would not be making any additional comment about the facts of the case while prosecutors are deliberating. 'Whatever happened is not right' While authorities shared little information about the case on Tuesday, statements from the time of the incident shed a bit more light on the situation. In its statement days after the shooting, the B.C. RCMP alleged that there had been contact between the stolen vehicle and a police vehicle. It also said that the driver of the stolen vehicle had gotten out, led officers on 'a brief foot chase,' and then entered the police vehicle. Police said one officer fired at the man, striking him. He was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries. In the weeks after the incident, CTV News was contacted by the sister of the deceased man, who identified him as Garry Pashe Jr., a 23-year-old father of two from Manitoba. Mellisa Pashe described her youngest brother as a 'happy kid' who had come to B.C. to help a cousin move and was trying to get home in time for his son's first birthday. Pashe said she thinks he messaged her on the day before his death because he was looking for financial assistance to help him get back to Manitoba. She said she thinks that's also why he stole the car, but whatever the reason for his encounter with police that night, she's convinced it shouldn't have ended the way it did. 'It's not right,' she said. 'Whatever happened is not right.' She said her brother 'wasn't a violent person' and 'never had weapons on him.' 'They could've Tased him,' she said. 'They could've used any other kind of force other than shooting him … He was a big kid, but I think he was more scared than anything. For them to pull a gun out on him, I can just imagine his fears.'
