No charges recommended against officers in two death cases, police watchdog says

SURREY — British Columbia’s police watchdog says it won’t be recommending charges against officers involved in two situations where people died.

The first case involved a man who was arrested in an alleged home invasion who was taken to Smithers RCMP cells over the Labour Day weekend in 2022.

The Independent Investigations Office says the man was found dead on the evening of Sept. 4, 2022, after hanging himself with a noose made from a pair of tube socks.

While the office noted the death could have been prevented, it says it doesn’t think there are there are grounds to believe an officer committed an offence.

In a separate file, the IIO says Mounties in Langley responded to a disturbance call last October and restrained a man, who later suffered cardiac arrest and was brought to a hospital where he was declared dead.

The office says evidence in the case demonstrates that the man’s uncontrolled behaviour justified the use of force and it does not believe there are reasonable grounds to refer charges against the officers to the prosecution service.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2026.

The Canadian Press