The province’s civilian oversight agency for police is investigating injuries that a woman sustained during arrest in a Parksville motel last month.
Oceanside RCMP officers responded to an abandoned 911 call at about 8:40 p.m. on March 24 that originated from the woman’s room.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. said officers discovered that the woman, whom the room was registered to, was also the subject of a well-being request.
The IIO said there was an interaction between the woman and officers, and the woman was arrested.
Two weeks later, on April 7, the IIO was notified when the RCMP became aware that the woman had sustained injuries while being arrested.
The IIO has since begun an investigation.
The watchdog said there are two factors it takes into account at the beginning of each investigation — if there has been an injury that meets the threshold of serious harm, as defined by the Police Act; and if there is a connection between the harm and police action or inaction.
If these two factors are met, the chief civilian director will determine if there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence has been committed, said the IIO.
The agency is asking anyone with relevant information about the incident to contact its witness line at 1-855-446-8477 or use the contact form on its website, iiobc.ca.
The IIO investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.
