Wrong man seriously injured during arrest: police apologize

SURREY — The

RCMP is apologizing to a seriously injured man whom officers mistook for a robbery suspect.

Mounties say in a news release officers were called to investigate an armed robbery at a business in the early hours of Feb. 8.

They say an officer found a person riding a bicycle nearby and believed he matched the description of the suspect.

RCMP allege the man resisted the officer’s attempts to take him into custody and a struggle ensued, prompting other officers to join in.

They say the man was assessed and treated at the scene by paramedics and it was later determined they had the wrong man.

RCMP say they have since learned that he suffered serious injuries and notified the Independent Investigations Office, which will investigate whether police actions are linked to the injuries.

“The RCMP regrets the mistake made in identifying the man and now offers a complete apology to him,” the Mounties said in a statement.

Okanagan Gleaners, based in Oliver, are still doing well even with COVID-19 restrictions. The Gleaners exists to transform produce that might otherwise be wasted into nourishment for the millions of the world’s hungry. We are grateful to our distribution partners who shipped over 12 million servings of soup mix in the year 2020. This would not have been possible without the partnership of our producers who donated over 2 million pounds of product to be dried, and our many volunteers who come to process vegetables and fruit.

Okanagan Gleaners is 100% donor and volunteer driven. Funds donated are used to operate our facility and allows us to continue our mandate to feed hungry people around the world.

Okanagangleaners.com has more information, or join our Facebook group at Okanagan Gleaners.

With the projected increase in global poverty levels because of the pandemic, nutritional soup mixes produced by the Gleaners will be needed more than ever. Thank you for your support.