IIO says man’s injuries not considered ‘serious harm’ during 2020 Victoria arrest

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC says the injuries a man suffered while being arrested by Victoria Police in 2020 does not constitute “serious harm.”

The arrest occurred around 10 p.m. on Sept. 26, 2020, in the hallway of the man’s apartment building in the 3000-block of Blanshard Street.

After the arrest, the man told the IIO that he went to the hospital for treatment of serious but non-life threatening injuries.

While the arrest occurred in 2020, the police watchdog says it wasn’t notified of the incident until Nov. 11, 2023, at which point it began its investigation.

On Friday, the IIO said it had completed its review and determined that the man’s injuries did not meet the threshold of “serious harm” under the Police Act.

Serious harm is defined by the Police Act as any injury that may result in death, serious disfigurement, or “substantial loss or impairment of mobility of the body as a whole or of the function of any limb or organ.”

The IIO says its investigation into the matter is now closed.

The B.C. IIO is called whenever a police-involved incident results in serious harm or death, even if there are no claims of wrongdoing.

SEE ALSO:

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