| Sourced from 4 independent sources · no points in dispute |
CityNews, Castanet, Campbell River Mirror, and CTV News
Most key facts are confirmed by more than one independent source; a few details come from a single outlet.
9 key facts · 8 corroborated · none disputed
Allegations described here are not proven in court unless stated.
A morning search-warrant operation near Salmo turned into an officer-involved shooting on Sept. 3, leaving a man seriously injured and placing the RCMP operation under investigation by B.C.’s police watchdog.
The shooting happened around 10 a.m. at a property on Ski Hill Road, where police were executing a search warrant with Emergency Response Team assistance.
Search warrant on Ski Hill Road
Officers found a man on the property and told him he was under arrest. Instead of complying, he went into a travel trailer.
What followed was a prolonged effort to get him out. Officers used multiple de-escalation measures, but the man stayed inside the trailer.
“Over the course of the morning, multiple de-escalation measures were employed in an effort to have the individual exit; however, those efforts were unsuccessful,” RCMP Staff Sgt. Kris Clark stated in a release.
Police said that, at one point, an officer saw the man at the entrance of the trailer holding a weapon. The officer then fired.
Man stayed inside nearly an hour
After being shot, the man returned to the travel trailer and remained there for nearly an hour.
He later came out and was taken into custody. The man suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital.
The basic sequence, as reported by multiple outlets citing police and the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., places the shooting during the execution of the search warrant, after the man had been told he was under arrest and after attempts to get him to leave the trailer had failed.
Watchdog investigation now underway
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. is investigating the RCMP officer-involved shooting.
The IIO investigates serious incidents involving police, and its involvement means the police actions surrounding the shooting are now under independent review.
The shooting site on Ski Hill Road became the focus of that review after RCMP notified the IIO. Investigators are now seeking to gather accounts and video that could help establish what happened during the operation and the nearly hour-long period before the man exited the trailer.
Castanet identifies injured man
According to Castanet, the injured man is 53-year-old Clark Hills.
Castanet reported that Hills had been wanted on outstanding drug and breach-of-probation warrants for roughly 17 months. The outlet also reported that the Crown opposed his release on bail.
Those details add a court-related dimension to the case, but the officer-involved shooting itself remains the subject of the IIO investigation.
Investigators seek witnesses and video
The IIO has asked anyone who witnessed the Sept. 3 incident, as well as anyone with video of what happened, to contact investigators.
That appeal is central to the next stage of the review. The confirmed account so far is narrow: police were carrying out a search warrant near Salmo, a man went into a travel trailer after being told he was under arrest, de-escalation efforts did not bring him out, and an officer shot him after seeing him holding a weapon.
The man survived, was taken into custody, and was transported to hospital with serious injuries.
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