IIO releases jurisdiction in one of two police-related injury cases in Surrey last week
SURREY — The Independent Investigations Office has released jurisdiction on one of the two police-related incidents it was looking into in Whalley last week.
The Surrey-based IIO was set up in September 2012 with the aim of keeping B.C. police officers accountable in cases involving in-custody deaths and serious injuries.
Surrey Mounties and an officer from the Integrated Police Dog Service were doing surveillance on a vehicle near the Central City Shopping Centre at about 12:15 a.m. Thursday when, according to police, the driver parked in the mall’s parkade.
“Upon leaving the vehicle an interaction took place with officers who had followed the vehicle into the parkade,” said Aidan Buckley, a spokesman for the IIO. “Police report that the male then ran to the edge of the parked and jumped, suffering serious injuries.”
The IIO is asking witnesses to contact its investigators at 1-855-446-8477.
Buckley said in both cases the IIO sought out witnesses and reviewed CCTV footage in an effort to determine a connection, if any, to the injuries and the actions of police.
The second case involved Metro Transit Police, at Gateway SkyTrain station. Transit Police were on patrol there at about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday when, according to police, a woman tried to exit the station from an emergency exit.
“Upon seeing police officers at the exit, the female ran away from the officers, jumped from the guideway to the ground and suffered injuries,” Buckley said. “We’ve released jurisdiction on the incident at Gateway Station as the IIO investigation concluded there was no connection between the injuries suffered by the affected person and the actions of police.”
tom.zytaruk@thenownewspaper.com
