Summerland man shot by police not wounded enough for Independent Investigations office

SUMMERLAND – A lack of serious harm to the a man shot by police in early July means the Independent Investigations Office lacks the mandate to look further into the incident.

Policy director Marten Youselff says in a press release the Police Act does not give the office the power to investigate when there is no death or serious harm.

The ruling comes from an incident in the early morning hours July 2 when a police officer fired shots into a moving vehicle after it drove down a dead-end street at Giant’s Head Mountain Parkway.

The officer had tried to pull the vehicle over at Rosedale Road and Praire Valley Road. After firing the shots, the vehicle left the area.

The officer was uninjured but several hours later a man attended the local health centre suffering from a gunshot wound. The wound was deemed insufficient harm for the investigation to continue.

While the office will not investigate, jurisdiction of the incident falls back to Summerland RCMP.

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