Police watchdog rules shooting of Maple Ridge man not a criminal act

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The Independent Investigations Office on Thursday released its decision into the 2019 RCMP-involved shooting death of 54-year-old Kyaw Din.

Officers responded Aug. 11, 2019 to a reported domestic incident around 1:10 p.m. in the 12400-block Colemore Street in Maple Ridge.

Din was shot three times in the head and neck.

In a lengthy investigative report, the IIO said the actions of the police were reasonable and appropriate.

At the time of the shooting, neighbour Bruce Main said paramedics and police responded to a home across the street occupied by a man with a mental illness.

“He went off his meds and they called the ambulance,” he said.

Witnesses at the time said they didn’t know what precipitated the incident, but said it was not the first time police had responded to calls involving the man, including one where he threatened a neighbour with a machete.

In the decision, chief civilian director Ronald J. MacDonald called it a “tragic situation” that was shocking and upsetting for Din’s family.

“Part of their reaction to the matter has been to publicly accuse the officers in this matter of numerous extremely serious offences, including the deliberate and planned killing of (the victim), the fabrication of evidence and the staging of the scene.”

MacDonald concludes that “the evidence is entirely inconsistent with those positions.”

With files from Cheryl Chan

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