Dramatic, hours-long Vancouver Island stand-off detailed in IIO report

Police squad car lights. FILE PHOTO (Daniel J. Rowe/CTV News)

An eight-hour standoff with the RCMP that left a military veteran with PTSD seriously injured and further traumatized began when officers showed up at the man’s Vancouver Island door to arrest him for breaching bail conditions, according to B.C.’s police watchdog.

The Independent Investigations Office released its report on the April 2024 incident on Thursday, finding there were no grounds to believe any of the responding officers committed a criminal offence.

The IIO did, however, point out an “unfortunate” miscommunication that played a part in setting the dramatic events in motion.

Officers attended the Courtenay home after receiving 911 calls about the man, referred to as the affected person or the AP throughout the report, riding his bike outside and causing a disturbance.

The AP was known to police because he “had amassed a significant justice system history involving allegations of violence, threats and non-compliance with police,” according to the report.

The AP was on bail at the time and his conditions included house arrest – with an exception for Sunday and Wednesday afternoons.

“Responding officers checked with their dispatcher regarding the AP’s bail conditions, and received incorrect information,” the report said, noting that the dispatchers said the AP needed written permission to be outside on Sundays when, in fact, he did not.

“This led to a disagreement between police and the AP at his front door: he was told he was under arrest for breach, and responded angrily that he was ‘allowed to be out’ and did not need permission.”

What the AP did next began the hours-long standoff.

“The AP refused to come out of the house and issued a series of death threats to officers while brandishing a large knife,” the IIO’s report said, adding that the Emergency Response Team was called in as a result.

The crisis negotiators on scene engaged with the AP, communicating through a loudspeaker and urging him to surrender, according to the IIO.

“The AP limited his responses to more insults and threats, including stating that if police entered his home he was prepared to use lethal force against them,” the report said.

After two-and-a-half hours of unsuccessful negotiations, officers attempted to block the garage door so the AP could not leave in a vehicle.

“This was not successful, and the AP opened the door partway, reaching out to grab the ram. In order to prevent this, pepper ball rounds were fired at the AP’s hand. In response, the AP appeared at a window, showing that a pepper ball impact had not affected him and saying that police would have to use lethal rounds,” the report said.

By 7:15 p.m. – about five hours after police arrived – officers deployed “chemical gas” into the home in an attempt to force the AP to leave.

“Coughing was heard from the crawlspace, and more gas was inserted into that area,” the report said, adding that police were then able to get more information about the scene using an infrared camera which detected a large heat signature consistent with a human shape.”

The AP was in the crawlspace, wearing a gas mask, covered in a sleeping bag and holding a knife, the IIO report said.

Police commanded the AP to drop the weapon and come out, but he refused. Attempts to subdue the AP with a taser fired into the crawlspace through holes cut into the floor were unsuccessful because the sleeping bag blocked the impact. Pepper rounds also did not work to disarm the AP.

“The ERT team leader concluded that it was too dangerous to send members into the crawl space, as the AP was still protected by the gas mask and sleeping bag and was still armed with a large knife,” the report said.

After the AP “slashed at an officer” through a vent in the crawlspace, the report said the officers fired 40-millimetre blunt impact rounds and tried the taser again – to no avail.

“None of these ‘less lethal’ force options appeared to have any effect on the AP, and he was seen moving around the crawl space holding the knife and a spade,” according to the report.

Next, police used firehoses – aiming them into the crawlspace in an attempt to dislodge the gas mask from the AP’s face and to force him to drop the knife. Then, more 40-millimetre rounds were fired at the AP and more chemical gas was deployed into the crawlspace.

None of the officers’ attempts disarmed the AP. Instead, eight hours after the standoff began, the AP surrendered – leaving the knife in the crawlspace, according to the report.

“(He) was then helped out to a waiting ambulance by two officers, his feet dragging on the ground. He told the officers, “Well, that was fun, guys, we should do it again,” and asked, “Aren’t you guys proud of me? I stayed in there for a long time,’” the report continued.

The AP’s injuries included fractured fingers on both hands, a broken right arm and a wound to his thigh. In addition, the IIO found that despite his “bravado” at the scene, “it is clear from his interview with the IIO that the incident caused him continuing physical and psychological distress.”

Given that the AP threatened police, wielded a weapon and refused to surrender – the IIO found police had “very little choice” when it came to their response, and that the use of force in the incident was neither excessive nor unreasonable. The IIO also noted that the AP’s “refusal to do as police asked and his remarkable ability to withstand the repeated deployment of non-lethal force against him that caused the incident to become as drawn out and violent as it was.”

The report also concluded that the AP was not breaching his bail conditions, and that responding as though he was “contributed significantly to a sequence of events that could easily have had a tragic outcome and that was traumatizing for the AP.”