Details have emerged from a police-involved shooting that occurred on the Pat Bay Highway in Saanich last year.
The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) released a report that detailed the events leading up to the incident and after, as well cleared any officers of wrong doing.
The incident occurred on April 28th, 2023, in the southbound lanes of the Pat Bay Highway, near Vanalman Avenue—prompting the closure of the highway in both directions for multiple hours.
Motorists that were in the area as it unfolded said they were told to leave their vehicles and escape to a safe area.
Several others said they had to take refuge in the Red Barn Market, while others reported hearing a gun shot.
Leading up to the shooting
According to the four page report, the suspect who has not been identified, has little memory of what occurred that evening between him and Saanich Police.
At the time, the suspect was subject to court-orders, including a curfew and wearing of an electronic monitoring device.
He told investigators he was in a dark spot on the day of the shooting. Earlier that day, he had his monitoring bracelet removed that day and was required to regular check-ins with his probation officer.
After having the bracelet removed, he stopped by a friend’s home where he obtained a recently purchased 9mm gun and also bought alcohol. He did not recall if he loaded the gun, but he does remember pointing the gun at his head at one point as he sat in a car in the driveway, according to the report.
He admitted to going home and drinking, as well as ignoring phone calls regarding his curfew. He also doesn’t recall leaving his house or anything afterward until he woke up in the hospital three days later, the suspect told investigators.
The shooting incident
After failing to respond to probation officers, police stopped by his residence to do an in-person check to ensure he was abiding by his curfew.
After seeing a BMW SUV leave the area, a check on the vehicle determined the vehicle belonged to a family member of the suspect. Officers followed the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop on the Pat Bay Highway.
According to the report, the suspect declined to exit the vehicle when asked by the officer, and when additional officers arrived, the suspect pulled out a gun and pointed it at his own head.
Police took cover behind their cruisers and immediately stopped traffic in both directions and evacuated people from their cars.
The Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team were called to come and assist, however, the suspect began “racking his firearm” and turning the lights of the vehicle on and off, and appeared to be preparing to drive off.
After multiple requests to exit the vehicle, the suspect eventually exited the SUV and began making his way to the back the vehicle with the gun in hand.
An officer on scene told IIO investigators he had clear view of the suspect brandishing the weapon and was walking towards officers taking cover behind a police cruiser.
That officer than fire one single rifle shot at the suspect from across the highway striking the suspect and causing them to fall to the ground.
The suspect continued to move around and attempted to get up with his gun within reach, so a police dog was deployed. The K9 bit the suspect and dragged him away from the gun, according to the report.
Officers then moved in and offered immediate first aid to the suspect. He was then transported to hospital, where he underwent surgery.
The following day, officers could be seen along the Pat Bay Highway searching the area for evidence.
Report conclusion
Because police force was used which led to an injury, the IIO launched an investigation to ensure the officers involved were not using force unjustly.
There were no eyewitnesses to the case, so the IIO had to rely on information from officers at the scene, police radio traffic and evidence from the scene.
“While there is no way to know what AP intended when he exited his vehicle and walked towards police with a pistol in his hand, disobeying their commands, it was not unreasonable for SO1 to consider those actions as posing an immediate and critical threat to officers and to deploy lethal force in their defence,” said the IIO in its report.
It was also determined the use of a K9 was justified.
“Given AP’s previous behaviour, it was reasonable to view him as a continuing threat to officers’ safety while still within reach of the firearm (the officers, of course, had no way to know it was not loaded). The limited use of the dog to move him away from the gun was justifiable, and was certainly preferable to further use of lethal force.”
With that information on hand, the IIO cleared all officers of any wrongdoing, citing that there was no further use of force against the suspect, and he received immediate medical assistance from police as soon as it was safe to do so.
The full report can be read here.
