B.C.’s police watchdog said it has determined a collision in Saanich on May 28 was not a result of police actions.
On May 28, at around 4:40 p.m., officers were doing traffic enforcement at the intersection of McKenzie Avenue and Cedar Hill Cross Road.
According to the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of B.C., officers attempted to pull over a black SUV for a traffic violation, but the driver accelerated away.
The officers did not go after the vehicle but provided a description and direction of travel information over the police radio.
The IIO said another police vehicle arriving to help with traffic enforcement was told by the officers already present that the black SUV had driven away when a stop was attempted.
The newly-arrived officer began to drive in the direction the black SUV was travelling.
The IIO said a short time later, the officer came upon the scene of a crash involving the black SUV and another vehicle.
The driver of the other vehicle was seriously injured and was transported to hospital.
Chief civilian IIO director Ronald MacDonald writes that “officers were not actively pursuing the vehicle at the time of the collision and arrived minutes after it occurred, as corroborated by independent civilian witnesses and several video sources.”
The IIO is the independent civilian oversight agency of the police in British Columbia. It investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.
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