VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – BC’s new police watchdog has only been in business for a month and it already has four cases on its plate.

“Clearly, we had no idea when our first call would take place, but we did have several months of planning and preparation behind us,” says Owen Court with the Independent Investigations Office. “We were ready to go on September 10th on our first day.”

The IIO was called on Sunday night after a man died a short while after he was arrested on the west side of Vancouver.

The 51-year-old had been drinking.

A team of six IIO investigators was dispatched.

The IIO is also handling cases in Prince George, Penticton and Cranbrook and Court says they’re not stretched too thin.

“[We can handle as many cases] as are reported to us,” Court explains. “We have our teams in place that are ready to respond any time an incident is reported.”

The office was created by the province so an independent body could handle investigations involving police officers instead of external police agencies.