B.C.’s police watchdog closes investigation on injury at Penticton jail cells

B.C.’s police watchdog has found Penticton RCMP were not responsible for injuries sustained by a detainee at city cells last month.

On the evening of Sept. 21, at 7:10 p.m., police were called to the 90 block of Okanagan Ave. East, where a man was found causing a disturbance, according to the B.C. Independent Investigations Office (IIO).

The man was arrested, brought to the Penticton RCMP detachment and was placed in cells.

The IIO looked at surveillance video of the man in cells and saw at 3:45 a.m., that he fell from a seated position and struck his head on the sink, then the floor.

Police found him in medical distress and called for an ambulance to take him to hospital, according to the IIO.

The IIO report said the man eventually left the hospital on his own accord, against medical advice.

2:15 Family, B.C. IIO confirm death of Okanagan man

“There is no evidence that any officer used force against the man at any time,” said the IIO report.

The IIO determined the man’s injuries were not the result of police action or inaction, and the investigation has been closed.