B.C. police watchdog called to incident in Shuswap

A police incident in which an Okanagan man went into medical distress after being tasered is being investigated by the B.C. Independent Investigations Office (IIO).

Sicamous RCMP say they contacted the IIO following the incident during the early hours of Monday, Oct. 28.

According to police, officers in Kelowna were notified of an erratic driver along Highway 97 near Lake Country at approximately 1:30 a.m., with the vehicle said to be straying from its lane.

The vehicle, thought to be a van, was located by Armstrong police, and that unsuccessful attempts were made to stop it. As it fled, police say the vehicle narrowly missed one officer.

Police say a short time later, officers stopped the vehicle south of Sicamous, but it again fled.

“The driver and vehicle were later located and stopped in Malakwa, 20 kilometres northeast of Sicamous,” police said in a press release.

“When officers attempted to take the man into custody, he allegedly resisted. Officers deployed a conducted energy weapon and the man was handcuffed, but then went into medical distress.”

Police say the 38-year-old man was transported to hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

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A witness to the aftermath told Global News that RCMP have remained at the scene of the alleged incident since 4 a.m., Monday.

A dark van with broken windows was the centre of the investigation on Sederberg Road off Highway 1 in Malakwa.

Sicamous RCMP said a concurrent criminal investigation is taking place, including damage to two police vehicles.

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A witness to the aftermath told Global News that RCMP have remained at the scene of the alleged incident since 4 a.m., Monday.

A dark van with broken windows was the centre of the investigation on Sederberg Road off Highway 1 in Malakwa.