Date: Thursday, November 18th, 2021

File: 21-45485, 21-45925

Victoria, BC – One officer sustained bite injuries and another was punched and kicked in the face while responding to separate mental health-related calls in the past week.

21-45485 | Shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday, November 12th, Patrol officers responded to a 911 call that person returned to their residence in Victoria to find blood on the ground, walls and doorway. The caller further reported that their partner was screaming from inside the residence. Officers arrived on scene to find the partner standing on top of a vehicle on the street and striking the hood while covered in a significant amount of blood. The person then ran down the street screaming. Officers determined that the person was suffering from a mental health crisis and needed to be apprehended under the Mental Health Act.

When officers attempted to apprehend the person they fought with police and bit an officer’s finger. The person refused to release the bite on the officer, and additional officers utilized a taser to free the officer’s finger and get the woman under control. The woman was transported to hospital for a mental health assessment and for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The officer was transported to hospital for treatment of a serious bite-wound and was unable to complete that shift.

21-45925 | Shortly before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 16th, Patrol officers responded to a report that an unknown man had entered a walk-in freezer at a grocery store in the 800-block of Viewfield Road in Esquimalt and refused to leave. The temperature in the freezer was -25 degrees Celsius causing concern for the man’s wellbeing. Officers arrived and spoke with the man, who agreed to leave the freezer. As the officers were walking the man outside of the building, he suddenly punched an officer in the face. A struggle ensued and the man then kicked the same officer in the face. After a continued struggle officers were able to take the man into custody. He was transported to hospital for a mental health assessment. The officer who was punched and kicked also suffered a shoulder injury and was unable to complete his shift. He remains off-duty.

Both of these files remain under investigation. If you have information about these incidents, and have not spoken with investigators, please call 250-995-7654 ext 1.