Distraught man from Chilliwack weapons call shot by police
British Columbia’s police watchdog is investigating after a Chilliwack man was killed during a police response to a weapons call Saturday night.
Chilliwack RCMP issued a stay-at-home order for nearby residents just after 9 pm when they responded to reports of a “distraught” man with a gun, Mounties said in a news release Saturday.
The man fired shots at police before returning inside a home on Christina Drive, police said. Luckily the man’s bullets didn’t injure anyone, and police evacuated nearby homes.
The Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team, which is a group of specialized tactical officers similar to “SWAT” teams in other jurisdictions, came to the scene and a crisis negotiator was brought in, the BC RCMP said in a news release Sunday afternoon.
At one point, officers fired shots at the man.
“An interaction between the man and police resulted in shots being fired by police. The man exited the home during the interaction and then returned inside,” Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey said in the release.
Not knowing if the man was still alive, officers sent in a robot to check. The robot found the man unresponsive inside the home.
First responders tried to revive him, but he was declared dead at the scene.
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Mounties lifted the stay-at-home order Sunday morning saying the neighbourhood was safe again.
“The Independent Investigations Office of BC and the BC Coroners Service is now investigating to determine whether police actions or inactions are linked to the man’s death,” O’Donaghey said.
The IIO investigates all police-involved incidents that lead to severe injury or death.
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