The Independent Investigations Office is investigating another incident involving the Vancouver Police Department where a person was injured during an arrest.
The incident, which occurred Dec. 30 in Champlain Heights, is the fourth case the independent agency has investigated in Vancouver since it began operating in September 2012.
The most recent case relates to Vancouver police attending a residence in response to a complaint. Once there, officers located a 26-year-old man who was reportedly "distressed and exhibiting aggressive behaviour," said Owen Court, a spokesman for the agency.
Police attempted to subdue the man to transport him to hospital. During an altercation with officers, Court said, the man suffered injuries and was admitted to hospital, where he remained as of Wednesday.
Police notified the agency one hour after they responded to the call. At the time, the extent of the man's injuries was not clear.
Over the following days, investigators from the agency met with the man's family and a medical team when it was determined the injuries met the Police Act's definition of "serious harm."
The agency only investigates cases involving police where serious harm or death is involved. The agency took over jurisdiction of the case Jan. 10.
The three other Vancouver cases investigated by the agency relate to the death of an intoxicated man named Stanley Robert Morrison, a man shot and killed by police outside an apartment building and a suicidal man who died after police responded to a call for assistance from paramedics.
In December, the agency cleared the officers of any wrongdoing in the case of 51-year-old Morrison who died while in police custody.
The case dates back to Oct. 7 when Vancouver police received a 911 call regarding a man who was allegedly causing a disturbance in a park in the 900-block of West Seventh Avenue.
Two officers responded and initially planned to transport Morrison to the Vancouver Detox Centre. The plan was abandoned once officers learned Morrison was temporarily banned "as a consequence of his past aggressive behaviour toward centre staff," the agency's Chief Civilian Director Richard Rosenthal said in his
report.
Instead, Morrison accepted a ride home in a police van. Neither handcuffs nor restraints were used. The three-kilometre trip took just under seven minutes to complete, the report said.
When the officer arrived at Morrison's residence, he opened the van's door and found Morrison to be "unconscious and in medical distress." Paramedics were called and arrived within 12 minutes. They initiated resuscitation efforts and transported Morrison to Vancouver General Hospital. He didn't regain consciousness and was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival at hospital. A toxicology report indicated Morrison's blood alcohol content was .30 per cent. A pathologist concluded he died of "acute alcohol toxicity."
Court said there were no updates to report on the two other cases from 2012. Once the investigations are concluded, the agency will make an announcement, he said.
The agency has five teams of six investigators and is based in Surrey. Since it began operating in September, the agency has been involved in 13 cases in B.C.
"We certainly knew that we would be busy and that's been the case," said Court, adding the agency has enough staff to handle the workload.
So far, he said, the agency continues to have a strong working relationship with police departments.
The agency signed a memorandum of understanding with B.C.'s police services in July 2012 to work cooperatively.
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