B.C. police watchdog investigating apparent suicide of officer charged with sexual assault

British Columbia's police watchdog says it is investigating the apparent suicide of a Vancouver Island police officer, who was found dead shortly after he was charged with sexual assault.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) says it was called Wednesday to the scene of a deceased man in a rural area near Shawnigan Lake, located about 30 kilometres northwest of Victoria, B.C. The man's death appeared to be self-inflicted, according to the IIO.

The investigations office says the man was one of two Central Saanich police officers arrested and charged with sexual assault Tuesday, following an investigation by the Vancouver Police Department. 

Several police sources say one of those two men — 43-year-old Matthew Ball — died by suicide later the same day.

The IIO has now launched an investigation into what took place leading up to and during the officer's death.

VPD Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson said at a news conference Tuesday that Ball and Const. Ryan Johnston, 40, allegedly formed separate "intimate" and "inappropriate" relationships with the same woman in her mid-20s.

Ball was charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of breach of trust for alleged offences that occurred between Feb. 1, 2019 and Oct. 31, 2023. 

Johnston faces a single count of sexual assault for alleged offences that took place between Feb. 6, 2020, and March 8, 2020. 

Wilson said allegations like the ones faced by the two officers are "deeply corrosive to the public trust police officers depend on to keep their communities safe."

Her comments sparked a response from Vancouver Police Union president Ralph Kaisers, who said in a Dec. 18 letter to union members that Wilson's language was "overly charged" and affects the morale of officers, erodes confidence in policing and undermines the presumption of innocence for the accused officers. 

"The description of the allegations as 'deeply corrosive to the public trust' prior to any trial or conviction not only prejudges the case, but also casts a shadow over the entire law enforcement community, who are working diligently and with integrity to serve their communities," the letter, obtained by The Canadian Press, says. 

It went on to say that the news release issued by police "goes beyond what is necessary to inform the public and veers into language that risks undermining the presumption of innocence — a fundamental principle of our justice system."

Kaisers added that the loss of a fellow officer emphasizes the urgent need for police agencies across B.C. to practise what they preach when it comes to trauma-informed approaches. 

"We can and must do better," his letter reads.