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Police watchdog recommends charges against Vancouver police officer in fatal shooting

SURREY, B.C. — B.C.'s police watchdog says an officer from the Vancouver Police Department might face charges in a shooting that killed a man two years ago.
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A Vancouver Police Department patch is seen on an officer's uniform in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Saturday, January 9, 2021. B.C.'s police watchdog says an officer from the Vancouver Police Department might face charges in a shooting that killed a man two years ago. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

SURREY, B.C. — B.C.'s police watchdog says an officer from the Vancouver Police Department might face charges in a shooting that killed a man two years ago.

A statement from the Independent Investigations Office says officers from the Vancouver Police Department responded to a call from the Patricia Hotel on May 5, 2022.

The agency says there was an interaction between officers and a man who was the subject of the complaint when officers arrived at the scene.

It says a police officer fired shots, leaving the man with “fatal gunshot injuries.”

The IIO’s interim chief civilian director Sandra Hentzen says she found reasonable grounds exist to believe that one officer might have committed offences in relation to the use of force after reviewing the evidence.

IIO says it has filed a report to the B.C. Prosecution Service for consideration of charges.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press