North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP responded to an incident on Tuesday that left one man dead and it is now being investigated by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC.
According to RCMP, on November 29th, at around 2 p.m., police responded to a call of alleged armed robbery by a man who was seen driving a black Toyota Tacoma.
Police say the truck was seen driving through Duncan but officers lost sight of it around 3 p.m.
At approximately 4 p.m., police say they found the truck parked in an eastbound lane along Highway 18. It was located about five kilometres outside of Lake Cowichan.
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According to police, 45 minutes after locating the vehicle at around 4:45 p.m., officers found the man deceased in the vehicle from injuries they suspect to be self-inflicted.
An IIO investigation has been opened into this incident to determine what role, if any, police action or lack thereof may have been a contributing factor to this man’s death.
The IIO is asking any person with relevant information or video footage regarding the incident to contact the witness line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via their contact form.
When the IIO’s investigation is concluded they will release their findings to the public.
The IIO is a civilian run organization, independent from police organizations. They investigate the police’s actions and inactions anytime an officer-related incident ends in serious harm or death.