Police watchdog called to investigate man’s death in Dawson Creek, B.C.

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — Mounties in northeastern British Columbia say one man is dead after exchanging gunfire with police and barricading himself inside an apartment overnight.

Officers found the man dead of what the RCMP say are believed to have been self-inflicted injuries the next morning, and B.C.’s police watchdog has been notified.

The RCMP statement says officers in Dawson Creek, B.C., went to the building on 10th Street to arrest the man at around 11:45 p.m. on Saturday.

It says the man had a weapon and refused to leave the home, while three women were able to leave safely.

Police say members of the Mounties’ emergency response team tried to negotiate with the man to surrender, but there were two separate exchanges of gunfire and officers went inside around 8:25 a.m. the next day and found him dead.

A statement from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. describes the incident as a “police-involved shooting.”

It says the office will “seek to confirm the details of police actions during the incident and what role, if any, they may have played in the man’s death.”

The Mounties say no one else was injured.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2023.

The Canadian Press

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