Elderly woman injured while police tried to disarm her, IIO says

Investigators from B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office are seen in this file photo from the IIO.

Vancouver — British Columbia's police watchdog is investigating an incident at a Kamloops care home that left an elderly woman seriously injured.

The Independent Investigations Office, which is tasked with looking into all incidents involving police officers in B.C. that result in death or serious injury, announced it was investigating the incident in a news release Friday.

According to the IIO, Kamloops RCMP officers received a call for assistance at a care facility in the 1800 block of Greenfield Avenue around 4:35 p.m. on Oct. 14.

When officers arrived at the suite to which they were called, "an elderly woman answered the door while reportedly in possession of a weapon," the IIO said.

The watchdog said an officer tried to take the weapon from the woman, and she was injured during the altercation. Officers then transported her to hospital for treatment.

The IIO said the RCMP learned of the seriousness of the woman's injuries on Thursday, at which point the watchdog was notified and began investigating.

Notably, the RCMP's news release about the incident does not describe the woman as elderly, nor does it describe the location where the incident happened as a care home.

Instead, Kamloops RCMP said they were called to "a residential facility" for a report that a woman "had threatened a person known to her and was running up and down the hallways of the building."

Police said the woman was initially arrested, but then apprehended under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital.