The province's Independent Investigations Office is looking for witnesses to an incident involving Vancouver cops in Port Moody last week, when a suspected armed robber suffered a fractured jaw while being arrested.
While the arrest happened in PoMo and the officers were from Vancouver, the action started in Richmond on the afternoon of Sept. 16, when three masked men, armed with a shotgun, attempted to get into Wonderland Jewellery at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond. When they were unable to get into the store, they fled to a waiting stolen Jeep Cherokee that was driven by a fourth suspect, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
The stolen Jeep was later abandoned elsewhere in Richmond, where the four suspects then got into a stolen Ford F-350 pick-up truck and drove it to Burnaby. They dumped the truck, hopped into another stolen Jeep and drove to Port Moody, where the group attempted to steal two more cars on Cecile Drive before running away.
VPD's emergency response team and three canine units began to track the suspects as they jumped a fence in hopes of evading arrest, police said.
All four were eventually arrested in Port Moody and investigators recovered a shotgun and ammunition.
Three of the four suspects received dog bites and were treated in hospital.
According to the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), the fourth suspect was taken into custody and was "later determined to have sustained a fracture to his jaw," and was hospitalized for medical treatment.
The IIO - a civilian-led body that investigates officer-related incidents of death or serious harm - is investigating the matter and is asking any potential witnesses who have not already been interviewed by its staff.
Kellie Kilpatrick, executive director of public accountability for the IIO, said the investigation relates solely to the man with the broken jaw as he was the only one with injuries that met the IIO's definition of serious harm. Kilpatrick would not say how many VPD officers were involved in the incident.
"It is our practice not to specify how many or to confirm who may have been designated as a subject officer(s) and who may be a witness officer(s)," she wrote in an email.
Once the investigation is complete, the IIO's chief civilian director will review the evidence and determine whether an officer committed an offence; if so, the file will be sent to Crown counsel to decide whether to approve any criminal charges. If the director does not send the file to Crown, or if the Crown does not approve charges, a report detailing those decisions will be posted on the IIO website.
The VPD maintains jurisdiction over the criminal investigations into the four suspects, who are said to have an extensive history with police and remain in custody pending their next court appearance in Richmond next month.
Charged with using a firearm in the commission of a robbery are: Jason Daniel Bissonette, 32, Lawrence Paul William Bolan, 22, James Denny Mitchell, 32, and Charles William Pronteau, 23. They all remain in custody.
If you have information about this incident, call the IIO information line at 1-855-446-8477.
