‘Very emotional, overwhelming’: Saanich police officer released from hospital after June bank shootout

A Saanich police officer who was injured during a shootout at a bank robbery has been released from hospital.

Six officers were shot and sent to hospital after gunfire during the robbery on June 28. The one officer who was placed in intensive care is now the only remaining officer still in hospital.

Saanich Police Department Chief Const. Dean Duthie says the department was notified today that one of the officers still in hospital was planned to be released, so they organized a “greeting” contingent of Saanich officers and Greater Vancouver Emergency Response Team to welcome the officer home.

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“I tell you, it was a very emotional and overwhelming moment. You could see the emotion in his eyes. But the smile on his face, told a big story for sure,” Duthie said.

Last month, investigators revealed the names of the suspects as 22-year-old twin brothers Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie. Both were shot and killed during the attempted robbery.

The incident forced police to issue a shelter-in-place advisory, as officers searched for an additional suspect. However, in a tweet later that day, police lifted the advisory, saying they had “not uncovered further indication of a potential 3rd suspect.”

The motive for the shooting remains under investigation, and the B.C. police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, has also been called in to examine the actions of police.

Speaking to CityNews, Duthie says you can feel the police officer’s strength and determination.

“You feel their heart. Knowing what they went through, I can only grasp at some minor details of understanding of what this person went through,” he said.

This officer’s injuries were significant, and their healing journey will be long, Duthie says.

“But knowing the progress he’s made in five weeks, is extraordinary,” he said. “Seeing him come out in a wheelchair at this point, but with the life in his eyes and the smile on his face, and you could see his heart beaming, and the determination … in his mind, of where he’s going to get to, he’s a very strong person that inspires us all.”

Duthie says since the incident, the support for the officers has been overwhelming. He’s received emails, phone calls, and letters from businesses and other police departments across the country.

“It hasn’t stopped it, they continue to come in,” he said.

“It just really shows how the Saanich Police Department, the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team is supported and is valued by the residents of Saanich, and within the whole Greater Victoria region.

“It’s very heartwarming to hear this and see this, and again, it fills the hearts of all the Saanich police officers that continue to report for duty every day and every night since June 28. And these members are putting on their uniforms, getting into their cars with absolute professionalism and determination to keep serving the citizens of Saanich, as best as possible.”

With files from Andrew Cowie