B.C.’s police watchdog is seeking a key witness to the police-involved Taser incident at the Vancouver seawall that sent a man to hospital.
According to a news release by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of B.C. on Monday, a woman with a brown and white dog was sitting nearby when police located a man along the seawall near Bute and Cordova streets on the afternoon of Oct. 6, following complaints of spitting and unwanted touching.
Vancouver police reported the man attempted to fight and officers deployed a conducted energy weapon, also known as a Taser. A “flammable concealed possession” somewhere on the man then ignited and he was taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
READ MORE: Police watchdog deployed after man Tasered, object catches fire along Vancouver’s seawall
The IIO believes the woman who was sitting nearby may be able to provide valuable information to the investigation.
The release said she was wearing a royal blue jacket and dark pants, with a medium-sized brown and white dog on a leash next to a bench in Harbour Green Park as the police interaction occurred.
This witness and any others who may have seen, heard or recorded the incident are asked to contact the IIO Witness Line at 1-855-446-8477.
The IIO investigates all police-involved incidents to determine if officers’ actions or inaction may have caused injury or death.
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