A blanket wrapping around a motorbike’s rear wheel, not the police, caused a crash last month in Campbell River, according to Independent Investigations (IIO) of BC.
According to a press release from the independent police watchdog, officers responded to a report of an armed man in the driveway of a residence in the 100 block of Reef Crescent at roughly 1:05 a.m. on Feb. 11. When officers arrived, the armed man was inside the residence. After attempts to speak to the man using a loud hailer and phone were ignored, the officers requested assistance from the Emergency Response Team.
The garage door of the residence was opened at approximately 1:50 a.m., and the man took off on a motorbike, not complying with officers who had tried to take him into custody. A blanket was shown dragging behind the bike on a police video. The biker headed south towards Erickson Road, where police deployed a spike belt. However, the man continued and turned east onto Erickson Road.
The man was found on the ground beside his bike moments later. Emergency Health Services provided medical assistance and transported him to the hospital for a serious, but not life-threatening, injury.
An examination of the motor bike found the spike belt had no affect but the blanket dragging behind wrapped around the rear wheel.
The Chief Civilian Director of the IIO cleared the police of committing any offence after finding no reasonable grounds after reviewing evidence. The man’s injury was caused by the crash and not from police action. The evidence reviewed included a statement from the injured man, video footage, scene examination, and police information. The IIO investigation is concluded.
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