Police interaction played no role in the mysterious death of a B.C. man who had criminal ties in the North Okanagan earlier this month.
That’s according to the Independent Investigations Office, regarding the fatal Aug. 5 incident involving West Kelowna resident Kyle Gianis.
According to police, officers were called to a campground in Enderby, north of Vernon, just after 12 a.m. for an alleged double stabbing, with the suspect, Gianis, found two hours later in medical distress.
Known to police, Gianis had survived four previous gangland hits on his life.
“The area was cordoned off and a search was launched for the man which included the use of a police dog,” RCMP said in a press release on Aug. 5.
“At approximately 2 a.m., officers located the man down an embankment near a river who was in medical distress due to what appeared to be self-inflicted injuries and began providing medical attention until Emergency Health Services was able to take over.”
Police reported that Gianis was acting erratically due to possible drug impairment.
Later on Aug. 5, the watchdog released a statement, noting that “when officers located the man at approximately 2 a.m., police … cautiously approached with the use of tear gas and a 40mm less-lethal round and observed the man to be in medical distress.”
On Friday, it released a statement after investigating the circumstances around Gianis’ death, though it did not name him.
“As indicated in the previous release, on August 5, 2021, just after midnight, police responded to a campsite near Enderby following allegations that a man had assaulted two women with a weapon,” the office said in a statement.
“Independent witnesses corroborate that the man sustained self-inflicted injuries before departing the campsite in a recreational vehicle (RV).”
First responders arrived a short time after police found him, but the man was pronounced dead.
“Based on the available evidence, the man’s death was not related to police actions,” the statement said.
The independent civilian oversight agency investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.
One week prior to his death, Gianis survived an attempted hit on July 31 in Kelowna.
He and an unnamed 25-year-old man from Surrey were both shot along Pandosy Street. Gianis was later released from hospital.
Following the double shooting, RCMP issued a rare statement identifying Gianis, though not the Surrey man.
“We have reason to believe this was a targeted attack on these two men,” Insp. Beth McAndie said on Aug. 1.
“Because of his criminal activities and associates, Mr. Gianis poses a threat to our community and the public in general, and we are putting all our resources into investigating this newest incident.”
Gianis was also the intended target of a gang hit three years ago which claimed the life of Paul Bennett — an innocent man.
Bennett, an operating room nurse, minor hockey coach and devoted father of two, was shot to death in his Surrey driveway in June 2018 in a case of mistaken identity.
His killer has not been caught.