Police watchdog called to Houston, B.C. after Mounties shoot boat theft suspect

British Columbia’s civilian police watchdog has been deployed to Houston, where a man was shot by RCMP during an alleged boat heist.

Officers were called to reports of a break-in and boat theft in progress around 3:40 a.m. Tuesday morning at a lodge in Topley Landing, about 50 kilometres between Houston and Burns Lake, according to an RCMP media release.

Police set up on a bridge in the area in a bid to intercept the suspects, and eventually spotted a vehicle towing a boat believed to be the stolen vessel.

0:50 Police-involved shooting at Vancouver intersection of Columbia and East Hastings, IIO says

“Police say that the vehicle allegedly drove towards one of police officers who fired their service pistol.  The driver of the vehicle received a non-life threatening injury,” the RCMP media release states.

“They were taken by EHS to an area hospital for medical assessment and cleared for police custody. No one else was injured.”

In its own media release, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) said the suspect was shot in the wrist, and has since been discharged form hospital.

The driver and passenger were both arrested, police said.

Houston RCMP will conduct the criminal investigation into the boat theft, while the IIO will be tasked with reviewing police conduct.

The IIO’s mandate is to investigate any interaction with police that results in serious injury or death to assess whether an officer may have committed an offence, regardless of whether there is allegation of wrongdoing.