Man smashing car windows in Penticton seriously injured during arrest

A man who was smashing car windows in Penticton early Tuesday morning was Tasered before he was pinned against a retaining wall by an RCMP vehicle.

An officer was called to a report of mischief at around 4:24 a.m, March 3, near Lakeshore Drive and Winnipeg Street, according to an RCMP media release.

The officer fired a Taser-like weapon at the suspect during what RCMP referred to as “an interaction.”

The officer called for backup and the responding officer pinned the suspect between a police vehicle and a retaining wall.

The suspect was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

One of the officers was also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, treated and released, RCMP said.

While Penticton RCMP investigate, the Independent Investigations Office of BC is also looking into the incident.

The police watchdog will determine if there’s a connection between the suspect’s injuries and officer action or inaction.

“At the conclusion of the investigation, the chief civilian director will consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have occurred,” the IIO media release reads.

The IIO asks that any witnesses who have information regarding this matter to contact the Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.

The IIO is the independent civilian oversight agency of officers and detention guards in British Columbia. It investigates all incidents involving officers or detention guards that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.