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Surrey RCMP cleared in case of male killed in crash after release from custody

Watchdog clears Surrey RCMP after man released from custody dies in crash
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IIO BC is a civilian oversight agency that investigates incidents involving police officers that result in death or serious harm to determine whether or not an officer may have committed an offence. (Black Press Media file photo)

B.C.’s police watchdog says Surrey RCMP ‘correctly’ released a male from its custody before he was killed in a pedestrian-involved accident on Sept. 14.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) has concluded its investigation into the police-involved incident in Surrey, according to a release Friday (Oct. 4).

READ ALSO: Police watchdog investigating after pedestrian struck and killed in Surrey, Sept. 17, 2019

The IIO release states that on Sept. 14, around 10:30 p.m., Surrey RCMP received a report of a pedestrian that had been hit by a vehicle near 152nd Street and Highway 10. Emergency Health Services attended and pronounced the male dead at the scene, IIO said.

The following day, according to IIO, RCMP determined that the male that had been killed had been released from police custody in Surrey shortly before the incident.

According to IIO’s investigation, the male had been arrested earlier in the day on Sept. 14 and “held in cells for approximately five hours before being released.”

After reviewing video evidence “covering his entire period in cells” when he was released around 9:45 p.m., the IIO release states that he was “capable of caring for himself and had been correctly released by the RCMP.”

“Our investigation has determined that the male’s death did not arise from the actions of police,” the release states.

IIO, bound by the Police Act, investigates incidents where there is “serious harm or death as a result of police action.”



lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com

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Lauren Collins

About the Author: Lauren Collins

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media's national team, after my journalism career took me across B.C. since I was 19 years old.
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