Abbotsford/Surrey — The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) is seeking witnesses to an incident that occurred in Abbotsford on the morning of Friday May 1.
Initial information provided by the Abbotsford Police Department states that shortly before 11 , officers responded to 911 calls about a woman outside the safety railing on the side of the Old Yale Road overpass above Highway 11.
Police spoke to the woman in an attempt to get her to move inside the barrier, but at around 11:30 p.m., she fell from the overpass and suffered serious injuries. She was taken by helicopter to a hospital for assessment and treatment.
The IIO was notified shortly after the incident occurred and launched an investigation.
There are two factors that the IIO considers at the beginning of each investigation:
- If there has been an injury that meets the threshold of serious harm, as defined by the Police Act, or a death; and
- If there is a connection between the serious harm/death and officer action or inaction.
If both conditions are met, the investigation will continue to examine all available evidence to determine what occurred. At the conclusion of the investigation, the chief civilian director will consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have occurred.
The IIO asks that any witnesses who have information regarding this matter to please contact the IIO at our Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.
