One man is in hospital, and the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. has been called in after Surrey police opened fire in a quiet residential neighbourhood near the city’s border with Delta on Monday evening. The Surrey Police Service says it was responding to a report of a suspicious male. It alleges the man confronted arriving officers, who then shot him. It happened at the intersection of Southpark Crescent and Southpark Close, near Boundary Drive South, just after 7:30 p.m. According to the IIO, paramedics took the man to hospital with serious injuries. A news release from the police watchdog refers to the initial call being about a possible break-in attempt. A separate news release from the SPS makes no mention of an alleged break-in, saying only that the initial call was about a suspicious male. “Police arrived on scene and the man reportedly confronted police, with police firing their service-issued duty pistols,” the SPS said in its release. The IIO said at this stage in its investigation it is not prepared to publicly comment on whether more than one officer fired shots. “That is an aspect of the investigation that we’re still looking into at this point,” spokesperson Simon Druker said in an interview with CTV News. “Being that it is so early, we wouldn’t want to compromise any witness statements that we’re going to take about what may have taken place.” Neither agency has said whether the man shot by police had, or was suspected to have, a weapon of any kind. IIO investigators could be seen canvassing door-to-door in the neighbourhood. Druker encouraged any witnesses or anyone with dash-cam or CCTV footage to contact investigators. No arrests or charges have been announced by the SPS in relation to the man shot by officers. The watchdog asked anyone with information on what happened to contact its toll-free witness line at 1-855-446-8477 or fill out the form on its website.
