A Burnaby Mountie may have committed an offence resulting in the death of a suspect outside a local apartment building last year, according to a report by the province’s police watchdog.
The report, which won’t be released to the public, outlines the Independent Investigations Office’s findings following their investigation into the death of a suspect, who police alleged had entered an apartment unit uninvited and was causing a disturbance.
Burnaby RCMP were called to the 6000 block of Walker Avenue, near Elwell Street, around 2:30 p.m. on June 4 after a complaint came in of an “unwanted male” in one of the suites. The officers tried to get the suspect to leave, but he wouldn’t cooperate. Officers deployed a conducted energy weapon (or Taser) multiple times, but that didn’t work.
An altercation ensued and the suspect was subdued. Before the officers could take the suspect away, he went into medical distress and died at the scene.
The Independent Investigation Office was called to the scene to investigate the conduct of the Burnaby RCMP.
Now, more than a year later, the police watchdog’s acting chief civilian director has submitted his report regarding the incident to Crown counsel, indicating an officer may have committed an offence. The director does not make a recommendation whether charges should be laid or not. It’s now up to Crown counsel to determine if a crime was committed.
No further information will be available until Crown counsel makes its decision.
