Police watchdog investigating Courtenay crash involving RCMP vehicle

The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) is looking into a crash involving an unmarked police vehicle in Courtenay late last month.

According to the RCMP, the incident happened on April 29th, near the intersection of Piercy Avenue and 26th Street. An officer driving an unmarked police SUV was en route to a call when the vehicle collided with another car.

Reports say the officer did not stop after the collision and instead continued on to the original call for service. They later returned to the scene and spoke with the other driver, who was eventually transported to hospital by ambulance for medical assessment.

The IIO was notified of the incident on May 2nd and has since launched an investigation.

As per their mandate, the IIO investigates all police-involved incidents in BC where there is serious harm or death, regardless of whether there’s an allegation of wrongdoing.

Their initial review will focus on two main questions including whether the injury sustained meets the threshold of serious harm under the police act, and whether that harm is connected to police action or inaction.

If a connection is found and the injury is deemed serious, the IIO’s chief civilian director will determine if there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence may have been committed.

The IIO is a civilian-run oversight agency responsible for maintaining accountability and transparency in police-related incidents across British Columbia.