THE Independent Investigations Office of B.C. on Thursday announced that it has discontinued its investigation of the Vancouver Police-involved incident in which Yellow Cab driver Sanehpal Singh Randhawa was killed after concluding that that the actions of police did not contribute to the collision.
Vancouver Police Department reported that on December 29, 2019, just before 3:30 a.m., a Car2Go Smart car made off from a road check being conducted on East Hastings Street near Clark Drive. A short time later the same vehicle was seen by an officer driving at high speed, eastbound along East Hastings Street. The officer completed a U-turn to follow the Smart car, but lost sight of the car and did not re-locate it. Unknown to police at the time was the fact the Smart car had turned off of Hastings Street onto Renfrew Street, the IIO BC said in a press statement.
Approximately 10 minutes later, officers received a report of a collision between a Yellow Cab and the same Smart car at the intersection of 1st Avenue and Renfrew Street. The driver of the taxi did not survive his injuries and the IIO commenced an investigation.
The Chief Civilian Director has reviewed the information obtained during the IIO investigation, including police records and CCTV footage. While police did attempt to stop the driver at a roadcheck, no further police contact was made, and the evidence determined that the actions of police did not contribute to the collision. Police were not in the vicinity at the time of the collision and only learned of it after other emergency services arrived at the scene, the IIO BC said.
As a result, the investigation has been concluded.
