The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) has launched an inquiry following a dramatic turn of events in a Vancouver car crash when the driver fell ill while in police custody.
Late on a Friday night, Vancouver Police Department officers rushed to the scene of a collision on Georgia Street near Broughton Street. A black Tesla had collided with a parked vehicle, resulting in a passenger being hospitalized. Meanwhile, the driver was apprehended by the police and taken to jail.
Upon reaching the police station, the driver’s health deteriorated, prompting immediate medical attention until Emergency Health Services arrived to transport them to a hospital, as detailed by the IIO on Monday.
The IIO, acting as a watchdog, is now delving into the incident to ascertain the severity of the driver’s injuries according to the criteria of ‘serious harm’ outlined in the Police Act. The investigation seeks to determine whether the harm suffered is linked to actions or inactions by the police.
If the conditions align, the inquiry will proceed to scrutinize all available evidence to unveil the sequence of events leading up to the incident. Ultimately, the chief civilian director will assess if there are grounds to suspect a potential offense once the investigation concludes.
In a bid to gather more information, the investigators are urging witnesses or individuals possessing video recordings of the crash to reach out to the IIO through the toll-free witness line at 1-855-446-8477 or by utilizing the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.