B.C.’s police watchdog investigating 4-hour standoff at Victoria motel-turned-homeless shelter

B.C.’s police watchdog is investigating a four-hour police standoff at a former downtown motel in Victoria.

Police were called to Paul’s Motor Inn on the morning of July 24 for a weapons complaint.

Officers and members of the emergency response team surrounded the property and closed the 1900-block of Douglas Street and nearby side streets.

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Officers initially tried to engage with the man, but were unsuccessful, according to a statement issued Friday by the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO).

At 11:45 a.m., the man left his suite and officers used a “less-lethal force option” on him when he did not respond to commands. He was arrested and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The province purchased Paul’s Motor Inn last month to serve as temporary shelter for the homeless, with plans to later redevelop it as social housing.

The IIO is a civilian-led body that responds to incidents of serious injury or death involving police officers.

— With files from Simon Little