Police watchdog seeks witnesses after arrest and death of man in B.C. Interior

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

British Columbia’s police watchdog agency is seeking witnesses as it investigates the arrest and subsequent death of a man following a rollover crash in the southern Interior.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says the series of events began on June 21, 2025, when a man driving an older model red Jeep “was involved in a rollover” on Twin Lakes Road, near the intersection with Westview Road, in the small Okanagan community of Kaleden.

“The man left the scene of the incident before Penticton RCMP officers arrived but remained nearby,” the police oversight agency said in a news release Monday.

“Police eventually located the man with the use of a police service dog and arrested him.”

The man was reportedly taken to hospital for assessment and treatment of unspecified injuries.

According to the IIO, the man left the hospital but returned a few days later and was pronounced dead there on June 27, 2025.

The police watchdog says it opened an investigation into the incident nearly 10 months later after it was contacted by the B.C. First Nations Justice Council.

The council, which provides legal services and support to Indigenous people navigating the justice system, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident.

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

Once its investigation is concluded, the IIO’s chief civilian director will decide whether there are reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence may have been committed by an officer.

The agency is asking anyone with information related to the incident to contact investigators at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.

No further details about the man, the nature of his injuries, his cause of death or his interactions with police have been released.