WARNING: This story deals with self-harm
Police were not at fault for a man who survived a self-inflicted gunshot in Aldergrove hours after he was pulled over by the Abbotsford Police.
The incident took place on the evening of Oct. 17, 2020, and began when Abbotsford officers were called to a crash at the corner of King and McKenzie Roads.
According to a report released Wednesday, Jan. 6 by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), police gave the driver involved an immediate roadside driving ban. He left in a taxi.
Later that night, Langley RCMP were alerted about a shot fired in the 26900 block of 27th Avenue in South Aldergrove.
They found a man who had suffered what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at a house in the area, according to the IIO report.
“He told police he had shot himself, but returned inside the residence,” said the IIO report. “Eventually, the man surrendered to police and was transported to hospital with critical head injuries.”
The man who had shot himself was the same man who had been involved in the crash in Abbotsford.
The IIO investigates all injuries and deaths of civilians in B.C. that are linked to a police interaction, whether an arrest, a crash, or an incident in a jail cell.
In this case, the IIO’s evidence, including witness statements and conversation with the injured man confirmed that that the self-inflicted injury had nothing to do with the Abbotsford Police’s actions at the crash.
The police at the scene of the crash acted appropriately, the report says, and had no reason to suspect the man would later harm himself.