IIO investigating after man injured during arrest involving police dog in Victoria

A view of the Victoria Police Headquarters in Victoria, B.C., on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Chad Hipolito / The Canadian Press)

The office that investigates police officers’ use of force in B.C. is looking into an arrest that took place in Victoria on New Year’s Day.

The incident began with a call about a man “behaving aggressively in public” in the 800 block of Pandora Avenue, the Victoria Police Department said in a statement Friday.

They did not specify what time the call came in, but the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. said in its own statement that officers responded shortly after 5:30 p.m.

Police said the man was “yelling at passersby, challenging people to fight, running in and out of traffic and allegedly assaulting a member of the public.”

“When officers located the individual, he resisted arrest and attempted to flee into active traffic,” the VicPD statement reads.

Police said the man assaulted an officer during his arrest.

“Police intervened using force to safely take the individual into custody,” the statement reads. “He was transported to the hospital for assessment and treatment.”

Because the man was injured, the department reported the incident to the IIO, which is tasked with investigating incidents involving police officers in B.C. that result in death or serious injury.

The IIO investigates all such cases, regardless of whether there is any allegation of wrongdoing on the part of police.

In its statement, the IIO said a police service dog was deployed during the arrest.

Investigators will now work to determine whether the man’s injury meets the definition of “serious harm,” as defined by the provincial Police Act, as well as whether any harm was the result of police action or inaction, the IIO said.

“If both conditions are met, the investigation will continue to examine all available evidence to determine what occurred,” the IIO statement reads.

The office is asking anyone who witnessed the arrest or has information pertaining to it to contact the IIO witness line at 1-855-446-8477 or use the contact form on the IIO website.