A police incident involving a man being shot with a ‘less-lethal’ sponge round is now under investigation.
The province’s police watchdog service, the Independent Investigation Office of B.C., says it is looking into an incident that occurred on Monday morning along the north end of Skaha Lake in Penticton.
Police say they were alerted to a reported stabbing around 5 a.m., with the complainant indicating “that the armed suspect was coming towards him before the call was dropped.”
The RCMP said officers rushed to the scene but couldn’t locate the victim.
However, “while on scene, the complainant called again and indicated that the suspect was now by the washrooms.”
There, they found a man who “refused to comply with police directions and a less-lethal use of force (a 40 mm ballistic round) was deployed, which struck the man.”
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The man was apprehended and taken to hospital for assessment, where he was treated for “a possible serious injury.”
Police said they “have now been able to determine that the man taken into custody was the same person who made the 911 calls, and there was no victim from the original call.”
Notably, the IIO added that the man was in possession of a weapon, and that “at this time, it is not believed that anyone was stabbed as was initially reported in the 911 call.”
It also said its initial investigative steps have confirmed that the man’s injuries meet the threshold of serious harm, “and further investigation will determine if police actions were necessary, reasonable and proportionate to the circumstances.”
Separate from the RCMP release, the IIO statement to the media made no mention of the man being shot, let alone with a less-lethal round.
Anyone who witnessed this incident is asked to contact the IIO witness line at 1-855-446-8477 or use their online contact form.