An IIO review cleared Delta police after force was used during a 2024 Mental Health Act arrest that later led to serious injuries.
IIO clears Delta officers after 2024 arrest
Delta police officers were justified in the force they used while arresting a man during a mental health crisis, according to a new report from B.C.’s Independent Investigations Office.
The incident happened on Sept. 26, 2024, at a Shell gas station in Tsawwassen.
Police arrived around 5:22 p.m. after reports that a man had stopped a woman from entering the store. Soon after, police were told the man appeared to be in psychosis and was throwing objects.
Police tried to calm the situation
Officers first tried to de-escalate the situation.
They told the man he would be taken into custody under the Mental Health Act. However, he did not comply.
Instead, he removed his shirt, jumped around and yelled.
Police then used extended-range impact weapons. The devices fired plastic or rubber projectiles, and about seven struck the man. Still, they did not stop him.
About an hour later, a police dog team arrived.
The man continued to resist. He walked toward officers while spraying water and throwing water bottles.
More force was used before the arrest
Police fired another impact round. An officer also used a Taser.
Neither stopped the man.
The police dog then moved toward him. During the encounter, the man tripped and fell near a doorway.
The dog bit him, and officers then placed him in handcuffs.
The man spent the night in hospital.
Serious injury was found days later
Several days after the arrest, doctors found another injury while changing the man’s dressing for dog-bite wounds.
A test suggested that one of the projectiles had damaged his testicle.
The man later told the IIO that he had suffered two broken fingers, injuries to his stomach and leg, and possible damage to his left testicle that could require surgery.
He contacted the IIO in April 2025 after learning that his injuries could meet the agency’s serious-harm threshold.
The IIO investigates cases in which someone dies or suffers serious harm during contact with police.
IIO says officers acted lawfully
However, police had not known that the injuries met that threshold at the time. As a result, they did not contact the IIO themselves.
After reviewing the evidence, chief civilian director Jessica Berglund found that officers were acting lawfully.
She said the man appeared to be experiencing a mental disorder and could have posed a danger to himself or others.
Therefore, she found that officers were entitled to use a necessary and reasonable level of force to make the arrest.
Berglund also said the man’s aggressive refusal to comply made a standard arrest too risky.
The impact weapons, she found, gave officers a way to distract him and create an opportunity to take him into custody.
No charges will follow
Berglund said the force used was proportionate to the threat officers faced during the encounter.
She also found that using a police dog was reasonable in the circumstances because officers needed to bring the man under control safely.
As a result, the case will not be sent to the B.C. Prosecution Service.
The IIO has therefore concluded that Delta police officers were justified in the actions they took during the Mental Health Act arrest.
