Police watchdog investigating after man seriously injured during arrest in Courtenay, B.C.
CTV
British Columbia's police oversight agency is investigating after a man was seriously injured while being arrested by members of the RCMP's emergency response team on Vancouver Island.
British Columbia's police oversight agency is investigating after a man was seriously injured while being arrested by members of the RCMP's emergency response team on Vancouver Island.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says it was alerted to the incident shortly after it occurred Sunday, when the man reportedly produced a weapon and barricaded himself inside a residence in Courtenay, B.C.
The RCMP says officers from the Comox Valley detachment were called to the home at 1:42 p.m. after receiving a complaint that the man was causing a disturbance.
Police arrived and told the man he was under arrest before he reportedly armed himself and refused to leave, according to statements Tuesday from the Mounties and the IIO.
A standoff ensued and lasted several hours before the emergency response team arrested the suspect at 10:47 p.m.
During his arrest, the man sustained a serious but non-life-threatening injury and was taken to hospital for treatment, according to police and the oversight agency.
"Initial investigative steps will seek to determine what happened during the incident, and whether any police action or inaction was necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in the circumstances, the police watchdog said.
