The three officers who shot a man to death in Campbell River may have committed offences in their use of force, according to the Independent Investigations Office (IIO).
In a media release, the IIO of BC said they would be filing a report with the BC Prosecution Service to consider charges regarding an incident in which three RCMP officers shot a man to death in Campbell River last year.
On July 8th, 2021 at approximately 5:30 a.m., an officer attempted to road check a parked vehicle.
Police say that the vehicle drove away and struck a police vehicle while fleeing the scene.
The officer did not pursue the vehicle but informed other officers of the incident and the Audi’s direction of travel.
Police say, at around 9 a.m., they located the vehicle and stopped it in a Tim Hortons drive-thru in the 2000-block of the South Island Highway.
Related:
- RCMP dealing with ‘serious incident’ at Tim Hortons in Campbell River
- Suspect and K9 police dog killed in incident in Campbell River
According to a IIO report last year, an RCMP officer boxed the vehicle in before approaching the suspect with a police service dog.
A confrontation occurred, resulting in the K9 being stabbed and the suspect being shot.
Both the police service dog (PSD) and suspect were pronounced dead on scene. The police dog handler was also treated for a knife wound.
The IIO cannot provide more information regarding this incident as their report recommends charges for the BC Prosecution Service who will subsequently lay charges against the officers involved.
“Upon completion of the investigation, Chief Civilian Director Ronald J. MacDonald, KC, reviewed the evidence and determined that reasonable grounds exist to believe that three officers may have committed offences in relation to various uses of force,” said the IIO in a release.
“As a result, and pursuant to Section 38.11 of the Police Act, the IIO is preparing a report to be submitted to the BC Prosecution Service for consideration of charges in the coming months.”
The BC Prosecution Service will have to be satisfied with the IIO’s findings in order to lay charges against the officers and have them convicted.
.){kind=link}