Man Tasered by B.C. Mounties dies in hospital

A man has died after police used a stun gun on him during an arrest near Sicamous, B.C.

The 38-year-old went into medical distress during the arrest in Malakwa during the early hours of Monday morningand died in hospital Tuesday evening, according to the Independent Investigations Office.

The IIO, which investigates police-involved incidents causing serious harm or death, is looking into what happened.

RCMP say they came into contact with the man after witnesses called to report an erratic driver on Highway 97 near Lake Country just before 1:30 a.m. on Monday.

Officers from the Armstrong detachment tracked down the vehicle and tried to pull it over, but the driver did not stop and allegedly came close to striking a Mountie as he fled.

Sicamous and Salmon Arm RCMP managed to stop the driver south of Sicamous, but before they could speak to him, he allegedly fled again.

Officers finally were able to stop the vehicle in Malakwa at around 3:20 a.m., but the driver allegedly resisted arrest. Police say they used a Taser and managed to get him into handcuffs before he went into distress.

He was taken into hospital in criticalcondition.

The IIO is asking anyone who witnessed the incident to call 1-855-446-8477 to report what they saw. The B.C. Coroners Service is also investigating.

RCMP say two vehicles were damaged in the encounter.