IIO BC Investigation underway after police standoff in Dawson Creek ends with armed man dying by suspected suicide
A standoff that lasted over eight hours ended Sunday morning after police found an armed man dead inside an apartment with what is believed to be self-inflicted injuries.
DAWSON CREEK, B.C.- A standoff that lasted over eight hours ended Sunday morning after Dawson Creek police found an armed man dead inside a residence with what is believed to be self-inflicted injuries.
The Independent Investigations Office of BC is now investigating the actions of police in the incident that began Saturday evening around 11:45 p.m. when police attended a residential building in the 600 block of 10th Street to make an arrest. The man was subject to an arrest warrant for an ongoing local investigation.
Once officers arrived at the residence, it was determined that the man was barricaded inside the home with three women, armed and was refusing to leave.
Over the course of several hours, police blocked off the area, attempted to communicate and negotiate with the man to safely surrender, and assistance arrived, including the North District Emergency Response Team, Crisis Negotiator and Police Dog Services.
On two separate occasions during the standoff, the man exchanged gunfire with police.
The three women were able to exit safely at some point during the standoff, said mounties.
The timeline of the details explained above between when police arrived at the residence and when the man was found dead at 8:25 a.m. on Sunday is unknown.
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Dawson Creek RCMP says no one else was injured.
As the matter is now under investigation by the IIO BC, police will not provide further information, said RCMP.
In a release, the IIO BC says it was notified of the incident shortly after it occurred, and initial investigative steps 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 IIO is asking anyone with information or video footage of the incident to contact the Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the organization’s website.
BC RCMP is conducting a parallel investigation into the events that proceeded the interaction with police.
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