The family members of a man fighting for his life in hospital are battling the medical system to keep him on life support, while his injury is the subject of a new investigation by the province's police watchdog.
The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) announced the new case involving the Ridge Meadows RCMP, after the incident on Aug. 30.
Police say at around 4:30 a.m., officers responded to a call about a man screaming and in distress in the 20900-block of Lougheed Highway. They arrived to find a man laying in the traffic lanes. Officers called for assistance from BC Emergency Health Services, because the man did not respond to verbal communication, and was hitting his head on the ground.
Police attempted to control the man until an ambulance arrived, but he went into medical distress. Officers administered aid, and the man was taken by ambulance to hospital.
The patient is a 39-year-old father of six, an iron worker, who lived on Laity Street.
His family has rallied around him, with a sister and his mother coming from California, and a brother from Hawaii, to be at his bedside. There are five siblings who visit him at Royal Columbian Hospital, and his common law wife has stayed with him.
His mother explained he suffered cardiac arrest, brain trauma and kidney failure. She wants him to get every chance to recover, and is disputing that he has lost brain function. He could have been taken off life support already, but the family got a court injunction to maintain it until Sept. 22, and are seeking further extensions.
His wife said it was not unusual for him to walk to a nearby convenience store, the 7-Eleven at 207th Street, even in the early morning hours. He had been consuming alcohol that night.
His mother is also trying to piece together what happened to her son, and spoke to a person who said they saw him earlier that morning. Her son had a bloody mouth, and was wet, from sweat or being doused with liquid, she was told. But he was walking, and was coherent at about 2:30 a.m.
She said there have been conflicting versions of events, and there is missing information.
There were reports he was walking into traffic. The hospital report said he was on his feet when police arrived on scene, and an officer took him to the ground, and he went into medical distress, she noted. That is a discrepancy from what the IIO reports police as saying.
The family has learned there were nine police officers at the scene, and four or five other witnesses.
The family would like to speak to other people who may have seen him that night. They put up posters, which, they were discouraged to find out, have since been taken down.
"We just want to know what happened to him," said his wife.
They ask that anyone with information call 604-307-9060, or email [email protected].
The IIO investigates where there is a serious injury or death, to determine whether there is a connection with police action or inaction. The chief civilian director of the IIO will consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have occurred.
The IIO is asking that any witnesses that have not already provided a statement, or who have video footage of the incident, to please contact the IIO at their witness line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.
