British Columbia’s police watchdog is investigating after two people were seriously hurt, including a pedestrian who sustained life-threatening injuries, during an attempted traffic stop in Surrey.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says the incident happened around 3 a.m. Monday, when officers with the Surrey Police Service tried to stop a black Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck near the intersection of King George Boulevard and 96 Avenue.
“A collision involving the pickup truck and a police vehicle subsequently occurred,” the police oversight agency said in a statement.
The pickup truck continued from the scene before crashing into a concrete SkyTrain pillar on King George Boulevard at Holland Commons, injuring the driver.
“A pedestrian was also located at the scene with serious injuries,” the IIO said.
Surrey police issued their own statement about the incident, describing the pedestrian’s injuries as life-threatening and the driver’s injuries as serious but not life-threatening.
Both patients were transported to hospital for treatment.
The IIO is investigating to determine whether the injuries meet the threshold for “serious harm” under the Police Act and, if so, whether they were the result of police actions or inactions.
Under the legislation, serious harm includes an injury that may result in death, disfigurement or the loss of function of a limb or organ.
If the IIO determines that the injuries meet that threshold and are connected to police conduct, investigators will examine the available evidence to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence was committed by police.
If reasonable grounds are established, the IIO’s chief civilian director can recommend that the provincial prosecution service approve charges against officers.
The IIO is asking anyone who witnessed the incident or has photos or video related to it to contact investigators.
The watchdog investigates all police-related incidents in B.C. involving death or serious harm, regardless of whether there is an allegation of wrongdoing by police.
