B.C.’s independent police watchdog continues to investigate a spate of officer-involved shootings in Burnaby more than a year ago.
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) told the NOW that three shooting investigations from March of 2015 that involved Burnaby RCMP are still ongoing, but there is limited information they can provide.
“As with all of our cases, this could potentially end up in a court or in a public report where the officer(s) are cleared,” said IIO spokesperson Marten Youssef in an email.
He said there are no set calendar dates for any of the investigations, noting there are a number of factors that could affect the timeliness, including outside lab reports or concurrent case load.
However, he added the IIO is currently closing cases in approximately 14 to 18 months.
Within the month of March 2015, Burnaby Mounties were involved in three separate shootings.
In the first case on March 1, Burnaby RCMP officers were on patrol when they came across an alleged robbery in progress at the 7-Eleven at Canada Way and Edmonds Street.
The officers attempted to arrest the two male suspects, but the men fled the scene in a vehicle.
A press release from the RCMP at the time noted a police vehicle was rammed. Shots were fired, and both suspects fled in the vehicle.
Officers found the suspects' minivan a short distance away. Investigators believe one of the suspects had crashed the vehicle into a fence at Canada Way and Rosewood Street. He was found near the vehicle suffering from a serious injury allegedly caused by a gunshot.
Nineteen days later, on March 20, another man was shot by officers outside of the Lougheed Village apartments on Salish Court.
On March 29, Burnaby RCMP was called to the 6100 block of 14th Avenue near Willard Street following reports of a stabbing. When officers arrived, there was a confrontation with one of the alleged suspects, and shots were fired, hitting the suspect, according to a media release from the IIO at the time. Both the injured suspect and stabbing victim were taken to hospital – neither survived their injuries.
In 2014, investigators were sent to Burnaby after officers used a Taser on a suspect. After he was detained, the suspect became unresponsive and died.
This past March, the province’s Criminal Justice Branch announced there will be no charges against the RCMP officers in the case.
