Dashcam footage uploaded to the Victoria Buzz Facebook group by a member shows a police cruiser running a red light before crashing into an SUV in downtown Victoria this morning.
Fortunately no one was injured in the collision that resulted in heavy damage to both vehicles.
See also: Victoria Police cruiser involved in two-vehicle collision downtown this morning
The incident took place just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8 at the intersection of Douglas and Johnson Street.
Videos uploaded by Alexander Woodman show the SUV driving through the intersection at a green light, when it is hit by the police cruiser that was driving through a red light.
The police vehicle does not appear to have its siren and lights deployed at the time of the collision.
In one of the videos, the owner of the dascham can be heard saying “You crossed the light, sir!” to the police officer in the cruiser. The officer can be heard responding with “I know”.
Under the Motor Vehicle Act in B.C., police officers are allowed to disregard red lights, stop signs, and other traffic controls without deploying their sirens and lights under specific circumstances.
In particular, officers can do this if they are in the middle of a case or investigation in which they deem the harm to public posed by a threat is greater than the risks that come with speeding through a red light without their emergency lights or siren on.
They may also run red lights if they have “reasonable grounds to believe that it is safe to operate the emergency vehicle without operating an emergency siren or an emergency light and siren”.
No information on the circumstances surrounding this officer’s decision has been made available by VicPD.
Spokesperson Cst. Cam MacIntyre says this file remains under investigation.