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B.C.’s police watchdog rules out officer inaction in death of UBC student

The UBC sign is pictured at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

B.C.’s police watchdog has finished its investigation into the death of a UBC student days after a 9-1-1 call last November, ruling out officer inaction as playing a role.

Police received an emergency call requesting medical assistance for a male student at the university on the morning of Nov. 14. He died in hospital six days later.

The Independent Investigations Office took over the file on Feb. 6, when it was notified of two missed calls logged on the student’s phone before the emergency call, from a number displaying as Vancouver Police.

“The IIO investigation confirmed that the two calls before 10 a.m. originated from E-Comm employees who are contracted by the Vancouver Police Department but are not VPD employees or police officers,” said the statement.

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“A police officer was not assigned to follow up as there were no indications of distress.”

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After reviewing information from police records and ECOMM, the Chief Civilian Director determined police action did not contribute to the death of the student because no officer was notified before the initial call at 10:00 a.m.

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