The Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia is investigating a police incident in Courtenay.
At roughly 10:45pm on Tuesday, Comox Valley RCMP were called to assist Emergency Health Services, after a person reported concerns for the health and well-being of an acquaintance staying at a local hotel.
RCMP attended the scene and spoke to the man.
The man initially told officers that he would not commit any self-harm.
“Despite the officer’s efforts to de-escalate the situation, the man returned to the hotel room, exiting shortly after with a firearm and harmed himself,” the BC RCMP said in a release.
The officers immediately called in BC Emergency Health Services who had been staged, as a precaution, nearby and took steps to provide first aid to the man while awaiting their arrival.
The man died at the scene.
The IIO BC is investigating to determine whether police actions or inactions are linked to the man’s death.
