No charges against police after suspect shot in head

Police shouldn’t face any charges in an arrest that saw a man in Salmon Arm shot at 14 times, according to a decision from B.C.’s Independent Investigations Office.

In January last year, three officers responded to a call that somebody was breaking into the coin box of a spray car wash booth.

In the report, then-22-year-old Kayman Winter said he started to drive out, intending to drive past an officer’s vehicle.

He said his reaction was to flee because there were outstanding warrants for his arrest.

But the investigation found that in the confusion, it could have looked like Winter was trying to run over an officer who was heading for the door of the carwash.

A second Mountie fired several rapid shots at Winter, hitting him in the head.

At the time of the incident, Winter’s family spoke out against the use of force against him.

“We don’t know exactly what happened, regardless, whether he was trying to get away, there’s other ways to deal with that,” Winter’s sister Tassie said. “That’s not even a shot to stop him, that’s a shot to kill him: right in the head, that’s a little bit extreme.”

The Independent Investigations Office was called in to determine whether or not the officer had used excessive force, in which case police could have faced attempted murder or other charges.

The investigation found that it was reasonable for the Mountie to believe the other officer was in danger, ruling that his actions were justified and charges are not warranted.