Victoria police cleared of wrongdoing after woman's arm broken by police beanbag round

British Columbia's police oversight agency has found no grounds for charges against a Victoria police officer who broke a woman's arm with a beanbag projectile during an arrest in Beacon Hill Park.

British Columbia's police oversight agency has found no grounds for charges against a Victoria police officer who broke a woman's arm with a beanbag projectile during an arrest in Beacon Hill Park.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says it reviewed audio recordings from police, photos of the woman's injuries and statements from 17 witnesses, including 13 police officers, in reaching a conclusion that ultimately cleared the officer of wrongdoing in the Sept. 9, 2022 arrest.

The incident began around 7:30 p.m., when officers were called due to a complaint about a woman yelling, acting erratically and waving two knives in the air while sitting in a corner of Beacon Hill Park.

A pair of crisis negotiators were called in, but after nearly three hours of efforts to convince the woman to surrender, the Greater Victoria emergency response team was deployed to the scene, the IIO said in a release Monday.

The first officer on scene told the IIO that the woman was talking about wanting to die, at one point holding a knife to her own throat. Another officer described the woman stabbing at the ground and swinging the knives as if trying to ward off attackers, saying she appeared to be "in full psychosis," according to the investigation report.

Control of the scene was handed off to emergency response team members around 10:15 p.m. The tactical officers decided to use "gradual escalation from negotiation through increasing levels of force aimed at separating (the woman) from her weapons," the IIO report says.

The woman was surrounded by police vehicles, including an armoured truck, before flashbang grenades, pepper spray and a Taser were fired at the woman, with little effect.