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A Vancouver police officer who shot and injured a man last summer has been cleared of wrongdoing by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.
In a report published Wednesday, the chief civilian director of the IIO concluded the officer was “clearly justified in deploying lethal force in self defence,” after being shot at by a man who was attempting to evade police.
According to the IIO, the police shooting took place on July 16, 2022, when officers were responding to a reported break-in at “industrial premises” in East Vancouver.
When the IIO launched its investigation last year, it said in a statement that the incident took place near the intersection of Commercial Drive and East 2nd Avenue.
The Vancouver Police Department said in its own release that the shooting unfolded after officers were called to a reported break-in near Gore Avenue and Railway Street around 8:45 p.m.
According to the IIO report, when police attempted to stop a van leaving the area at high speed, the driver collided with several parked cars.
As a result, the van was boxed in, and an officer approached the suspect vehicle with a police service dog. That’s when the man shot a revolver, prompting the officer to fire six rounds from his own weapon.
The driver was seriously injured but survived, according to the IIO.
He was arrested at the scene, then transported to hospital and treated for “bullet wounds to the abdomen, right arm and left leg, and dog bite injuries,” the report details.
“Fortunately, the incident was captured on video from multiple perspectives, and witnessed by a number of civilians,” Ronald MacDonald wrote in the IIO report.
Video of the incident posted on Reddit shows at least two VPD officers with their guns drawn, and the sound of gunshots can be heard. The person recording the video can be heard discussing the incident with someone else, saying "they just f***ing shot him."
Cellphone video from the scene, audio recordings of a 911 call, police radio communications and security video from residential properties were analyzed as part of the investigation.
It also involved statements by the injured man, nine civilian witnesses, two paramedics and four witness police officers—but the officer being investigated was not required to provide evidence.
“All other available evidence leads to the conclusion that (the affected person) drove with reckless abandon, intent for whatever reason on avoiding apprehension by police,” MacDonald wrote. “He then tried desperately to extricate his vehicle from where he had crashed it, and where it was now blocked in from behind by a police car.”
According to the IIO, the revolver that the man fired at the approaching officer and police dog narrowly missed the animal’s head.
Investigators also say the driver’s gun had previously been reported stolen in Surrey, and it turns out the cartridge he shot was actually a blank round that “produced a large flame but no projectile.”
However, the officer who shot the man did not know that at the time, and therefore had reasonable grounds to believe lethal force was necessary, the IIO reasons.
“If (the affected person’s) account of the incident were credible, it would give rise to concerns about unauthorized and excessive force on (the officer’s) part,” MacDonald wrote.
However, the IIO’s chief civilian director found the man “at the very least” appeared to be confused about the series of events.
“I do not consider that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an officer may have committed an offence,” MacDonald concluded.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ian Holliday
