IIO trying to determine how many shots fired in fatal Campbell River shooting

CHEK

The Independent Investigations Office was back on the scene Monday, still trying to piece together what happened near Park Road Saturday morning.

Initial reports indicated RCMP officers responded to a theft and weapon complaint around 11:30 a.m. at the River Sportsman outdoor store on Island Highway.

The suspect then headed north on the Island Highway over a bridge and was soon picked up on surveillance video at a former motel.

Moments later he can be seen on video running past an RCMP officer pointing something in his right hand at the officer.

The officer can be seen unholstering their firearm and a shot rings out.

“It was pretty shocking yeah, pretty weird to see right in front of our place,” said Daniel Glendale whose surveillance video recorded the scene.

He and Cassandra Simms arrived home after the shooting to find numerous police cars, then looked at the video.

“It just looks like he was trying to escape through the stairwell underneath us but he can’t so he runs back and that’s when everything goes down with the cop,” said Simms.

They say the man’s name was Mike and that he was known to visit a bottom floor unit.

The man was carrying some type of weapon but the IIO isn’t saying what it was.

One clear gunshot shot is heard in the video but the IIO isn’t ruling out more. Investigators could be seen using a metal detector Monday on the gravel shoulder of Park Road where the man was arrested by police.

“We’re working on that at the moment in our forensic scene examination and examinations of firearms, that type of thing to determine how many shots were fired,” said Ron MacDonald, IIO Chief Civilian Director.

MacDonald confirms the man was shot by police but say an autopsy will be performed to determine how he died.

Witnesses told CHEK News Saturday, that police officers put the man in the back of an RCMP cruiser then noticed sometime later that he was in medical distress.

It could be months before the IIO releases a report on this case and determines if the RCMP officer did anything wrong.

That’s because the investigative force is currently shorthanded in light of several new cases just in the last few days alone including a police-involved shooting in Surrey, two incidents in Nanaimo and one on Salt Spring Island.

The IIO usually has 30 investigators, but is down to 24 and put out a press release Monday to say it’s having a hard time hiring and being competitive in the workforce.

“This is a discussion that’s ongoing between my office and the government but at this point in time it’s not been resolved and it’s a real challenge for us,” said MacDonald.

Another high profile case happend less than a year ago in Campbell River and the IIO investigative report is still outstanding.

That’s when a man was shot to death by police in a Willow Point Tim Hortons drive-thru after he fatally stabbed a police dog.

The man was wanted on an outstanding warrant.

Dean StoltzDean Stoltz

Recent Stories

Send us your news tips and videos!