B.C. watchdog investigating after woman shot by police, airlifted to hospital

Police tape is shown on Saturday, Jan 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

British Columbia’s police oversight agency is investigating a police shooting in Agassiz that sent one woman to hospital in an air ambulance Thursday night.

Mounties responded to a call about a person damaging a home on the on the Agassiz-Rosedale Highway, between McDonald Road and Bristol Drive, at around 7:45 p.m., according to a statement from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.

The police watchdog says the officers encountered the woman outside the home, stating that she “was reportedly in possession of a weapon.”

The woman then went inside before “an interaction occurred and shots were fired by officers,” the IIO statement said.

The Agassiz RCMP provided their own version of events in a statement Friday afternoon, saying the woman had a handgun and “reportedly pointed the gun at police before going into the home.”

‘Officers returned gun fire’

Officers with the Integrated Emergency Response Team had been called to the home, but while the heavily armed officers were still en route, the woman “once again pointed the gun and shot outside,” police said.

“Officers returned gun fire, striking the person before they went back inside the home,” according to police.

When the Emergency Response Team arrived, the officers entered the house, found the woman suffering from a gunshot injury, and arrested her.

Paramedics provided first-aid treatment to the woman before she was airlifted to hospital, according to police and the IIO.

Two ground ambulances, including one carrying advanced care paramedics, also responded to the shooting, B.C. Emergency Health Services spokesperson Brian Twaites said in a statement Friday.

The patient was in “serious condition” when she was flown to hospital, he added.

The police oversight agency is now seeking witnesses to the incident to aid in its investigation of the officers’ conduct.

The police watchdog investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death in B.C., whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing by police.

Under the provincial Police Act, “serious harm” is defined as an injury that may result in death, disfigurement or loss of function of a limb or organ.

The Agassiz RCMP said it would not release any further information about the incident while it is under investigation by the agency.