The Independent Investigations Office of BC is investigating after an off-duty police officer struck a woman in New Westminster.
In a July 9 news release, the IIO said a woman sustained serious injuries in the incident, which occurred around 6:45 p.m. at the intersection of East Columbia and Braid streets. IIO is seeking witnesses to the incident.
Information provided by the New Westminster Police Department states that an off-duty member of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit driving a black Nissan Armada was involved in a collision with a female pedestrian at the intersection, said the news release.
“The pedestrian sustained injuries in the collision and was taken to a local hospital for treatment,” said the IIO.
According to the news release, the IIO was notified of the incident on July 7, when New West police officers became aware that the woman’s injuries may meet the threshold for serious harm, as defined by the Police Act. At that time, the New Westminster Police Department reported the incident to the IIO.
“Serious harm is defined in Part 11 of the Police Act as injury that may result in death, may cause serious disfigurement or may cause substantial loss or impairment of mobility of the body as a whole or of the function of any limb or organ,” said the IIO website. “When a notification from police is received, the on-call director or the chief civilian director will determine whether a case is within the jurisdiction of the IIO. If it is not immediately apparent if the injuries meet the threshold to be considered serious harm, initial investigative steps will seek to determine this.”
The Initial investigative steps being undertaken by the Independent Investigations Office are to confirm the details of the collision and the injured woman’s condition.
The IIO is asking any person with video footage or relevant information about the incident to please contact the Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the IIO’s website.
The IIO, an independent civilian oversight agency of B.C. police, investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.
The Record contacted the New Westminster Police Department for additional details on the July 1 incident, but they were unable to provide information as it’s now being investigated by the Independent Investigations Office.
