B.C.’s police watchdog has been dispatched to West Kelowna to investigate a Wednesday shooting that left one man who had been hiding in a porta potty injured.
The Independent Investigations Office said in a statement released Thursday that a complaint of gunfire in the 700 block of Harvey Avenue in Kelowna Wednesday put police in pursuit of a suspect who had fled the scene in a car.
The suspect, according to the investigations office, was then involved in a crash on Olalla Road and subsequently entered a porta potty on Skyline Road where he was located by police.
The Southeast District Emergency Response Team and a Negotiator were called but the man would reportedly not comply with directions.
“A short time later, it is reported that there was an interaction between the man and police, and an officer discharged their firearm,” according to the report. “The man sustained a gunshot-related injury and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.”
An update on his current condition was not offered.
West Kelowna resident, Mira Mirkovic said the violent episode shook residents of her usually quiet neighbourhood.
“I thought this was like a war zone, honestly, when I saw so many of the police and the special units with all of their guns, I said ‘oh my God,’ I kept repeating ‘oh my God, I don’t know what’s happening here,” she said.
“I really did think that maybe more people were involved, I didn’t think it was just one person. For me, that was unusual to see so many police and special units. That was unreal.”
The IIO was notified of the incident shortly after it occurred and has deployed investigators to the area to commence an investigation.
“Initial investigative steps will seek to confirm the details of what occurred leading up to and during the interaction with police, and whether police actions were reasonable, justified, and proportionate in the circumstances,” IIO said.
The independent civilian oversight agency of the police in British Columbia investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.
The IIO is asking any person with relevant information or video footage of the incident to please contact the Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.
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