VicPD officer injured on the job intervenes in mental health crisis

A Victoria Police Department crest is shown in this undated photo. (File Photo)

Victoria -

A Victoria police officer who was sent to hospital for treatment of injuries he sustained while working found himself involved in another incident as he was leaving the hospital.

On Monday morning, the VicPD officer was punched several times while helping to detain a man, and was later taken to hospital for treatment of a concussion.

As he was leaving the hospital with a uniformed officer in a marked police cruiser, the pair of officers spotted a "woman in crisis" on the Helmcken Road overpass.

Police say the officers pulled over and tried to speak with the woman, who appeared to be in "immediate danger." The officers spoke with her as other members of the West Shore RCMP and Saanich Police Department were called to the scene.

"When the woman in crisis moved to harm herself, the VicPD officers intervened, physically pulling her from danger," said VicPD in a statement Thursday.

West Shore RCMP officers then took the woman into custody under the Mental Health Act and transported her to the hospital.

No one was physical injured in the encounter, police say.

"The injured VicPD officer was transported to headquarters to secure his police equipment and returned home to recover from his injuries."