The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) has opened an investigation into the Comox Valley RCMP after a motor vehicle incident sent one man to hospital.
According to a case report published by the IIO, on April 29, an officer was driving an unmarked police SUV. While responding to a call, the officer was involved in a collision with an unrelated vehicle. The car crash occurred at the intersection of Piercy Avenue and 26 Street.
The IIO states that the officer continued driving to the initial service call, but later returned to the collision scene and spoke to the man who had been driving the other vehicle. The RCMP reported this separately to the IIO. The man who was driving the other vehicle was taken by ambulance to the hospital for assessment.
"The IIO was notified on May 2, and is now investigating," the report says.
There are two factors that the IIO takes into account at the beginning of each investigation:
1. If there has been an injury that meets the threshold of serious harm, as defined by the Police Act, or a death; and
2. If there is a connection between the serious harm/death and police action or inaction.
Under the Police Act, "serious harm" is defined as "injury that may result in death, may cause serious disfigurement or may cause substantial loss or impairment of mobility of the body as a whole or of the function of any limb or organ."
"When a notification from police is received, the on-call Director or the Chief Civilian Director will determine whether a case is within the jurisdiction of the IIO. If it is not immediately apparent if the injuries meet the threshold to be considered serious harm, initial investigative steps will seek to determine this," the IIO website says.
If there is a connection to police action or inaction and the person’s serious harm or death, the chief civilian director will determine if there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence has been committed.
