B.C.’s police watchdog is investigating what role, if any, officers’ actions or inactions may have had in the death of a man in Squamish last week.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) says Squamish RCMP officers were called to a business at about 11:20 a.m. on Nov. 18, where a man was reportedly smashing up objects. Two hours later, around 1:20 p.m., the man was found at his residential unit in the 3700-block of 3rd Avenue.
Police told the IIO the man reportedly had a weapon and that he refused to exit his home.
It wasn’t until 5:15 p.m. that police entered the man’s unit and found him to be suffering from an injury, which appeared to be self-inflicted. Despite medical aid, the man was soon pronounced dead.
The IIO is investigating what role officers may have played in the death. The IIO is an independent agency tasked with investigating any officer-involved incident that results in serious harm or death, regardless of whether there are any allegations of wrongdoing.
Anyone with information about the Nov. 18 incident is asked to contact the IIO at 1-855-446-8477 or online at iiobc.ca.
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