The Independent Investigations Office is looking into an incident in Nanaimo in which two suspects were bitten by a police dog on the weekend.
The incident happened at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday when police were chasing a man and a woman who were allegedly fleeing from a stolen vehicle. Both suspects suffered dog bites during the arrest and were treated for their injuries.
The Independent Investigations Office was called about the incident at 3:30 a.m. and started its investigation later that day.
Nanaimo RCMP will maintain jurisdiction over any other investigations into the actions of the people involved in the arrest.
Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, said Nanaimo RCMP cannot comment on the investigation and the Independent Investigation Office said in a press release it had no further information currently available.
The Independent Investigations Office was set up to conduct fair, unbiased, timely, thorough and competent investigations and ensure transparency through public reporting.
The office and the Nanaimo RCMP will work within the terms agreed upon in the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by the Chief Civilian Director and B.C.’s police services in July 2012. For more information on the Independent Investigations Office, please visit www.iiobc.ca/.