Achi news desk-
BC’s police oversight agency has reopened its investigation into the death of a man who died of self-inflicted injuries during a standoff in northern BC last summer.
On August 15, 2023, Mounties responded to a call about a man threatening workers at a pipeline site in Mackenzie, BC According to police, he had a rifle and ammunition in his vehicle and the workplace was evacuated, according to police.
MacKenzie RCMP and the Northern Region Emergency Response Team then “established a containment” at the man’s home, according to a news release from the time of the incident.
Police said they repeatedly tried to get the man to surrender, but during the confrontation they heard a loud bang inside. The man was then found dead in the home.
As with any police incident that results in death or serious harm to a member of the public, the Independent Investigations Office was called in to determine whether any officers had committed a crime.
In January, the IIO completed its investigation and said it had found “no negligence on the part of the police and that the officers’ actions were lawful and not unreasonable in the circumstances.”
In its January 5, 2024, news release about the investigation, the IIO provided more details about the incident, including that police negotiators spoke with the man on the phone several times, “some of them at length,” in still during the hours. standoff.
“All those efforts were unsuccessful. During one call, the affected person told police he was watching them through his rifle scope,” the IIO wrote.
Police later considered entering the home, and first used two “distraction devices,” according to the office. About a minute later, the bang was heard during a call between one of the police negotiators and the man.
The IIO’s initial investigation determined that no officers had discharged their firearms, and an autopsy confirmed that the man’s injury was self-inflicted.
However, on Friday, the IIO said that new information had led it to reopen the investigation.
“In a recent meeting with the family and community of the deceased, additional lines of inquiry were identified in relation to the incident on August 15, 2023 which resulted in the death of one man,” he wrote.
“Therefore, the IIO’s investigation has been reopened to pursue this additional information and ensure that all facts of potential evidentiary value have been exhausted.”
Anyone with information about the incident can call the IIO’s witness line at 1-855-446-8477.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, you can call the suicide crisis hotline 9-8-8. The line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for calls and text messages.
