By Jill Sperling

IIO begins investigation into police involved shooting of man in Kamloops

Sep 15, 2018 | 11:26 AM

KAMLOOPS — An investigation into the police involved shooting of a man in a mostly rural area of Rose Hill Road Friday afternoon is underway.

Kamloops RCMP were called to the area for a man reported to be acting strangely. The incident resulted in an exchange of gunfire, and ultimately the death of the man. 

Chief Civilian Director of the B.C. Independent Investigations Office Ron MacDonald says his team arrived Friday evening and is currently piecing together what happened.

“Today we are doing, in particular, forensic scene examination,” MacDonald said. “That’s incredibly important in a matter such as this. We are gathering evidence that is available from the police agency, in this case the RCMP. We are identifying witnesses and beginning the process of speaking with what witnesses and civilian witnesses there are.” 

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MacDonald says police notified the IIO upon determining the condition of the man, around an hour and a half after the exchange of gunfire. 

He says the investigation is likely to take several days, at which point the IIO may be able to release details about the incident. 

“The statute requires us to investigate anytime there is an interaction between police and a member of the public which leads to a serious injury or death,” MacDonald said. “So, we have to investigate, even if there aren’t any allegations of wrong-doing. We need to determine what happened. At the end of the day our job is to not only let the public know what happened, but determining whether or not there are any grounds to refer the matter to the Crown for charges.” 

MacDonald says identifying information about the deceased man will not be released to the public, but at this point investigators have been unable to confirm his identity. 

The IIO and RCMP are asking any witnesses to contact IIO at 1 (855) 446-8477.