Date: Thursday, October 15, 2020
File: 20-41292
Victoria, BC – The man retrieved from the Inner Harbour last night, after being missing in the water for three hours, has been arrested on outstanding warrants.
At approximately 4:20 p.m. yesterday afternoon, Patrol officers were called to a report of a person in distress in the water on the south side of the Johnson Street bridge. Multiple officers attended and began to search but the person was not located. The search efforts included an officer entering the water and searching underneath nearby docks. The officer in the water searched for the missing man for a significant period of time. He was treated by B.C. emergency Health Services paramedics for his exposure to the cold water.
Patrol officers remained on scene, searching the Inner Harbour for the missing man. The search included a number of partner agencies, including Victoria Fire Department, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Coast Guard, and the Saanich Police Dive Team.
At approximately 7:20 p.m., while the Saanich Police Dive Team was conducting their search, the man surfaced from the water and was pulled from the water by officers. The man was alive and suffering from non-life-threatening injuries from cold exposure.
During the course of the investigation, officers learned that the man intentionally went into the water off the docks south of the Johnson Street bridge. Once in distress, the man asked a bystander to contact 911. The man then submerged into the water and could no longer be seen.
When officers pulled the man from the water, they confirmed his identify. He was transported to hospital for treatment for his injuries. As the investigation continued, officers learned the man had a series of outstanding warrants for his arrest. Officers now believe the man remained under the decking of a floating dock for the duration of the search, and he may have been attempting to avoid police detection due to a number of outstanding warrants.
The man’s outstanding warrants include unendorsed warrants for offences including assault, forcible entry, assaulting a police officer causing bodily harm, and uttering threats.
Officers arrested the man for these warrants. Once the man was medically cleared, officers transported him to cells where he was held to await morning court.
Note: This man is not Dallis Briet, who was the subject of a wanted alert last night, which was issued around the same time that the man missing in the Inner Harbour was pulled from the water. Dallis Briet remains outstanding.
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