B.C.’s civilian police watchdog is investigating after a Vancouver police officer struck a pedestrian with their vehicle early Tuesday morning.
The Independent Investigations Office said the collision happened around 3:20 a.m. as the officer was driving east towards Main Street in the 100 block of East Hastings Street.
Police said the man who was struck was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
In an email, Vancouver police spokesperson Const. Tania Visintin said the man was struck while “walking in the middle of the street.”
“Some bystanders attempted to interfere with evidence at the collision scene by removing property that belonged to the man who had been struck,” she said.
Visintin described the man’s injuries as non-life threatening, and said the VPD Collision Investigation Unit was investigating.
Whether or not the police vehicle had lights and sirens activated at the time of the crash will form a part of the investigation, she said.
The IIO’s mandate is to investigate any police-related incident that results in serious injury or death, regardless of whether there is an allegation of wrongdoing.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has relevant video is asked to contact the IIO at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.