B.C. police watchdog investigating death of Central Saanich officer [Video]

Warning: This story contains a reference to suicide.

British Columbia’s police oversight agency is investigating the death of a Central Saanich police sergeant who had been charged with sexual assault and breach of trust hours before he was found dead on Wednesday.

Sources have confirmed to CTV News that Sgt. Matthew Ball, 43, died by suicide after he was charged and released from custody.

Const. Ryan Johnston, a 40-year-old colleague with the Central Saanich Police Department, was also charged with sexual assault after allegedly forming a separate relationship with the same woman in her mid-20s whom the officers allegedly met while on duty.

In a statement Thursday, the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. said it was investigating the officer’s death in a forested area near Shawnigan Lake, approximately 45 kilometres northwest of Victoria,

“It appears the manner of death was self-inflicted,” the statement from the police watchdog said.

The IIO was notified of the death by the Vancouver …