Officers’ actions were reasonable and justified when they fatally shot a man in Abbotsford in December 2023, the province’s police watchdog has ruled.
A report issued Tuesday (June 18) by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC concluded that the matter will not be forwarded to Crown counsel for the consideration of charges.
The incident in question took place on the evening of Dec. 17, 2023 in the 1700 block of Riverside Road. Police at the time said there had been an interaction between police and the man, and “police discharged their firearms.”
The IIO report states that on that evening, a 911 call came from staff at the Riverside homeless shelter, indicating that a man had left the facility saying he wanted to die by having police shoot him.
When officers located the man, he was carrying a large knife in one hand and would not follow directions to drop it, the IIO report states. The man also had a can of bear spray in his other hand.
The report indicates that the man told officers on scene to shoot him and took there of four steps towards them.
As officers tried to de-escalate the situation, the man continued to tell the officers to shoot him.
One officer fired several beanbag rounds, with at least one striking the suspect, but it did not deter the man.
The IIO report states, at this point, the man appeared “more motivated” and “walked with purpose” towards the officers. He was still carrying the knife and bear spray.
The man was about 20 feet away when “multiple” shots were fired by five officers, the report indicates.
“Video of the incident from nearby commercial premises shows (the man) striding towards the group of officers and falling to the ground approximately eight metres from them,” the IIO documents state.
The suspect was declared dead on scene, and a post-mortem report indicated that he had five gunshot wounds.
The IIO investigation concluded that when the officers fired their guns, the man “clearly posed a threat of grievous bodily harm or death to them.”
“The officers had quite properly tried to bring (the man) under control by the use of non-lethal force, but unfortunately that had not been sufficient to stop (him),” the report states.
“The evidence, including (the man’s) earlier statements and the objective video evidence indicates that he intended the police to believe lethal force was necessary for their own protection. That belief, in these circumstances, was reasonable and the officers’ actions were therefore justified in law.”
The IIO investigates incidents of death or serious harm that might have been the result of the actions or inactions of a police officer.
