Wawmeesh Hamilton and his family were eating at a Commercial Drive sushi restaurant across the street from a McDonald’s where a man lit himself on fire Thursday night. Photo Saša Laki?
The Independent Investigations Office has cleared Vancouver police officers of any wrongdoing related to an incident March 15 inside a McDonald’s restaurant on Commercial Drive where a distraught man caught fire after dumping gasoline in the restaurant.
Police fired at least two plastic rounds from an Arwen gun at the man during the incident that saw firefighters first spray him with foam to extinguish the flames.
Police fired the rounds after the man failed to get on the ground outside the restaurant at 2570 Commercial Drive, according to the Investigations Office report released Thursday and authored by the Chief Civilian Director Ronald MacDonald.
“Following a review of all the evidence collected during the course of this investigation, there is no evidence that the officers committed any offence in the course of this interaction with [the man],” MacDonald wrote. “In fact, evidence showed the officers acted at risk to themselves in meeting all of their duties as police officers. The injuries suffered by [the man] were as a result of his own actions.”
Police were called to the restaurant just before 9 p.m. after a man was seen sitting outside with a can of gasoline and threatening to harm himself. He then walked into the restaurant and, according to 911 records, said: “Who took my phone? People who didn’t take it, get out.”
He poured the contents of the gas can inside the restaurant. An employee pressed a panic button and told staff and customers to leave the restaurant, which they did. Video showed the man by himself and retreating to the back corner of a hallway near the washrooms.
Outside, police closed down the street to traffic and pedestrians. Police noted a gasoline trail inside the restaurant that led directly to the front door. There was an overwhelming odour of gas fumes, MacDonald said in his report.
At one point, video showed the man sitting alone in the empty restaurant, drinking from a can and smoking a cigarette. A police dispatcher reported the man said, “I’m not leaving until I get what I want.” He then poured gasoline on chairs and tables.
Police tried to speak to the man but he was screaming and refused to engage. A negotiator arrived on scene but the report said the man had “an aggressive demeanour towards her and called her a f---ing bitch numerous times.”
A background check on the man revealed he was involved in a separate incident that week in Vancouver “where he was intoxicated and displayed violent behaviour.” As negotiations continued, members of the VPD’s emergency response team arrived and developed a plan with firefighters, which involved spraying the man with foam to prevent him from lighting himself on fire.
But before the plan could be executed, a fire erupted at the back of the restaurant where the man was located. He caught fire and ran towards the front door, where firefighters sprayed him with the foam.
“A witness officer stated police deployed Arwen rounds to get [the man] on the ground, but they had little to no effect,” the report said. “The IIO recovered two Arwen rounds from the restaurant. [The man] was taken into custody at 9:38 p.m. BC Ambulance transported him to hospital as he suffered second and third degree burns. Medical evidence indicated that there were no injuries from the deployment of the Arwen rounds.”
The report did not state the current condition of the man.
@Howellings
