The Independent Investigations Office has been called in after a man died after he was arrested by Vancouver police Sunday morning.
Just after 11 a.m. Sunday, Vancouver police received 9-1-1 calls reporting a suspicious person possibly trying to break into cars on East 13th Avenue near Victoria Drive.
“According to witnesses, the man appeared agitated and under the influence of drugs,” media relations officer Const. Jason Doucette said in an email.
Officers arrived about five minutes later and arrested the 23-year-old man without the use of force, he said.
Shortly after being arrested, the man went into medical distress. Paramedics rushed the man to hospital but he died early Monday morning.
The Independent Investigations Office, the independent civilian oversight agency that investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, was called in and is now looking into what led to the man’s death.
In a statement posted on its website, the IIO said that civilian witnesses have told investigators that there was no “use of force” used by officers during the arrest.
@JessicaEKerr
