The Integrated Investigations Office of B.C. has cleared the Nanaimo RCMP of any wrongdoing after a man was approached by police and fell off a cliff on June 29.
The IIO published a report on Wednesday that detailed their examination of the fall that left the man with serious injuries. At approximately 1:45 a.m. an officer with Nanaimo RCMP approached a man who appeared to be urinating in a parking lot near Club 241 on Skinner Street. The cop pointed a flashlight at the man and said, "Hey, buddy."
"The male began to move away from the officer, toward the edge of the parking lot and then disappeared over the cliff," wrote IIO chief civilian director Richard Rosenthal.
The man was located and was breathing but unresponsive. The officer and his partner estimated that an ambulance had been called within three minutes of the fall. The partner was interviewed by IIO and backed the testimony of the investigated officer. The man who fell from the parking lot was also interviewed. He said he could not remember the fall. Medical records indicated he was drunk when the hospital received him as a patient.
Witnesses who work at the club said they saw the man fall before officers could reach him. Video from a nearby pub showed the man had been inside the bar before his fall.
"I do not consider that the subject police officer may have committed an offence . . ." Rosenthal wrote. "Therefore the IIO will take no further action in relation to this case."
