Police watchdog investigating Kamloops RCMP after suspect seriously injured

B.C.'s police watchdog is asking anyone with information or video footage about an incident that led to a man being injured in Kamloops yesterday to contact them.

Police were called to a home in the 2000 block of Pacific Way at about 4 p.m. yesterday, Oct. 24, following reports of a man behaving erratically and in possession of a weapon, according to an Independent Investigations Office of B.C. news release.

RCMP said in a separate release the man was threatening violence.

“When officers attended his residence, the man came outside, holding a weapon and yelled obscenities at police,” the RCMP release read.

“Officers attempted to engage with the man for several hours as he continued to move in and out of the residence. At one point the male sustained serious injuries from self-inflicted actions.”

RCMP do not say what kind of weapon the suspect was holding.

The police watchdog said the suspect was taken into custody with "less lethal intervention" and transported to the hospital for treatment.

The independent investigations office is trying to determine if police actions, or inactions, contributed to those injuries.

Anyone with information is asked to call the office’s witness line at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on their website, here.

The IIO is the Independent civilian oversight agency of the police in B.C. It investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.

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