Port Alberni RCMP are not commenting now that the Independant Investigations Office has been called to look into the death of a man in the Somass River.
At around three a.m. Thursday, staff at the Johnston Road 7-11 called police, reporting a naked man who was covered in blood had just left their store and was at a neighbouring car wash, cleaning himself off.
Officers located the man but he began running and refused to stop before jumping into the frigid Somass River.
Officers tried unsuccessfully to reach the man in the river and the police watchdog is now investigating to determine whether police actions or inactions are linked to the man’s drowning.
