The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) has concluded an investigation into a situation in Parksville that resulted in a woman being injured during a confrontation with Oceanside RCMP.
On March 24th, 2025, at around 7 p.m., Oceanside RCMP were called to conduct a “wellbeing check” on a woman who was reported as being in a state of mental distress.
The caller told police that the woman had not been taking her medication and was threatening the caller with a small kitchen knife.
Around 40 minutes later, police were told that the woman was in a motel room registered under her name. The motel manager had spoken with her and she had told him that she was “okay” at that time.
Just minutes later, the woman called 911, reporting that she was scared because she was receiving calls from numbers she did not recognize.
Oceanside PCMP reported the calls were from officers involved trying to ensure she was okay.
According to the IIO, officers then arrived at the motel and opted to wait for backup because they believed the woman could be violent.
Police knocked on the door, but the woman refused to allow them entry. According to accounts from officers involved, the woman was “screaming” and “yelling” inside, so they asked the motel manager for a key to get inside.
“We just wanted to have a face-to-face and see if everything we’ve been told was correct and what state [the woman] was in and if she was arrestable,” said one of the officers involved in a statement.
“Like maybe she’s just angry and maybe we’ll have a conversation and just say, no… I just want some time and space.”
Police opened the door and found it to be barricaded and the woman standing a short distance away with something in her hand.
The item she held turned out to be a mug, which she threw and reportedly hit an officer on the wrist with before it fell to the ground and shattered.
As this was happening, the woman called 911 for a third time telling dispatch that if it was a police officer at her door, they were not welcome.
While on the line with dispatch, police entered the motel room and could be heard on the call’s recording saying “Put the cup down right now,” followed by a commotion, the sound of the mug shattering and a loud crash.
After the mug hit an officer, another officer entered and yelled at the woman that she was under arrest.
The arresting officer attempted to detain the woman and both fell to the ground. Because the officer was holding her arms, she could not protect her face from hitting the concrete ground.
“The face went down hard. It was a horrible sound,” said one of the officers present.
The arresting officer reported in his statement that he slipped on wine, which was spilled on the floor, as he grabbed the woman, causing them both to fall.
When officers sat the woman up, she was bleeding from a massive cut on her head. The woman accused police of knocking out some of her teeth, but officers report that she had no dental damage after the incident.
Police called paramedics and accompanied her to the hospital where they released her on an undertaking to appear for the charge of assaulting a police officer.
In her statement to the IIO, the woman said she felt very on guard with the police at her door and threw the mug on instinct because she thought she was in danger.
According to the woman who was charged with assaulting an officer, the mug did not hit any of the officers present.
After reviewing and investigating the matter, the IIO determined that there was no wrongdoing on the part of the officer who took the woman to the ground.
This case is now closed.
