B.C.'s police watchdog is looking for anyone who saw or even heard a fatal police-involved shooting in Mill Bay on the weekend.
The Independent Investigations Office is looking into the shooting death of 27-year-old Chris Bloomfield, who police shot in a confrontation at a mobile home on Saturday.
Police reported that he had a knife at the time of the altercation, and that they used their firearms when a Taser failed to stop Bloomfield from advancing on them.
Bloomfield was rushed to hospital but later died from his injuries.
Police were initially called to the mobile home for assault, but the nature of the assault call has been kept quiet.
Bloomfield had previous run-ins with the law, being charged with assault and resisting an officer in 2013, and openly shared stories about drug use on social media.
"Things that he had done perhaps a few years ago may not play a great role, although it may or may not have an impact on what was in the mind of the police officers at the time," said the IIO's chief civilian director Ron MacDonald. "But we certainly are interested in his physical and mental state at the time of this incident."
The IIO is looking to speak with any witnesses who haven't come forward, even people living nearby who heard gunshots on Saturday.
They will also examine the role of the Taser reportedly deployed in the confrontation.
"Certainly that will be part of our investigation," said MacDonald. "We can download data from the device and it will tell us whether it was operated, how it was operated, whether it worked, that type of thing."
Anyone with information is asked to call the IIO witness line at 1-855-446-8477.
