Victoria police being investigated after suspicious death of child

The province’s police watchdog has been called in to investigate after a child’s death in Victoria last week.

Victoria Police were first called Thursday morning to perform a wellness check on a mother and child. Several hours later, police received another call to attend the same house, where officers found the child in distress.

The pair was taken to hospital, where the child later passed away.

The mother was not believed to have any strong medical issues, according to Ron MacDonald, Chief Civilian Director at the Independent Investigations Office (IIO).

“The key to our investigation is to determine not what happened with the child, but really to focus on that first visit,” he said. “Police have an obligation to protect life, and when they respond to incidents where they’re checking on the welfare of individuals, they have the duty to take appropriate steps. Given the circumstances, the question that’s raised with the facts alone, did the police do what they should have when they interacted with the mother and child earlier that morning.”

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MacDonald says there is no allegation officers did anything wrong, but IIO is called in to investigate any police-related incidents resulting in death or serious harm.

In terms of the investigation, he adds they will be speaking to the mother, possible witnesses, witness police officers, and going about trying to find any hard evidence to give them conclusive answers.

In his experience, MacDonald says with a ‘unique’ case like this, he expects it to be resolved within a few months.

The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit is also investigating.