The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of B.C. has concluded the actions of police were not criminal during an eight-hour standoff with a man in Williams Lake who died by suicide in his home on July 10, 2022.
All officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death are investigated by the independent watchdog.
Chief Civilian Director Jessica Berglund in her written decision said, however, the incident raises bigger questions about the approach that police officers take when engaging with a person suffering from a mental health crisis, especially a person from an Indigenous community.
In her narrative of events, Berglund described how on Sunday, July 10, at 3:42 a.m. a family member called 911 to report that a man was suicidal in the family home in Williams Lake.
Another family member took over the call and said the man was intoxicated, had a loaded rifle and had said, ‘I’m done.’
While police were responding, the 911 call taker, at the request of the police, asked the two family members to leave the home.
They did and met the police officer outside at 3:50 a.m.
Two other officers positioned themselves near the home to contain the scene.
The first responding officer requested that crisis negotiators be called and four on-duty officers began to evacuate nearby homes.
All police efforts to speak to the man were unsuccessful.
They tried calling the man on one of the family members’ cell phones still inside the home and on the man’s cell phone, which later they learned was in his truck outside the home.
Police also began calling out to him using a loudspeaker on a police vehicle and later a remotely operated speaker.
In a recorded interview with police at 5:40 a.m. one of the family members told police she did not believe the police response was warranted and said ‘this feels unnecessary now,” as she believed the prior interactions were related to intoxication, Berglund noted.
Just before 6 a.m. one of the Williams Lake officers requested the Emergency Response Team travel from Prince George. The ERT arrived at 8:17 a.m. along with crisis negotiators.
Officers continued to attempt to contact the man inside the home and at 8:39 a.m. officers noticed the face of another person at a window of the home, who turned out to be a child who it was initially believed was at another person’s home for the night.
Eventually, a Tactical Armoured Vehicle arrived at 10:42 a.m. and was moved into position.
Police then used distraction devices to try and prompt the man and the child to safely exit the home.
Although the man did not exit, the child “chose to exit once window breakers were deployed,” Berglund said, adding that when the child was interviewed she said the man had told her he loved her and they could leave if they wanted.
Still unable to successfully communicate with the man, the RCMP decided to use tear gas.
When questioned why they did not try to involve the family in the negotiations, crisis negotiators and other offices involved said that other parties, such as family or friends, are generally not invited to attempt to speak to a person in crisis, Berglund wrote.
“This is to avoid the possibility of unintentionally triggering a negative reaction by the person in crisis as police officers do not have an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of a distressed person’s relationships.”
Finally, at around 12:30 p.m., a robot equipped with a record video successfully entered the home and located the man who was deceased.
The incident lasted over eight hours and 25 police officers attended.
Berguland wrote while the incident does not meet the standard for referral to Crown Counsel, she will be referring the file to RCMP and the Civilian Review and Complaint Commission for their review to assess whether changes to policy or training are necessary with respect to how police officers respond to similar incidents involving Indigenous people and communities in the future.
She said she also met with family members of the deceased man on Oct. 9, 2024, to discuss the findings of the investigation.
“During the meeting, significant concerns were raised by participants with respect to ongoing discrimination against Indigenous people by the Williams Lake RCMP and that police response to this incident was more forceful and severe than if the man had been non-Indigenous,” Berglund noted.
The investigation did not reveal any evidence that racism influenced the involved officers’ approach to the incident, Berglund noted calls for accountability and reforms continue and addressing systemic discrimination against Indigenous Peoples remains crucial in advancing reconciliation efforts and ensuring fair and equitable treatment under the law.
