B.C.’s independent police watchdog has recommended charges against two RCMP officers in the province’s Southern Interior for their actions taken during a rough arrest last spring.
On April 14, 2020, at approximately 12 p.m., Mounties responded to a report regarding a suspicious person on a forest service road off Highway 97A near Sicamous.
Police said the description of the vehicle led officers to believe the individual was a man known to have outstanding arrest warrants and to have failed to stop for police previously.
As such, police say Sicamous RCMP requested assistance from officers from neighbouring detachments, including Salmon Arm and Revelstoke.
“Officers located the man and made unsuccessful attempts to stop his vehicle,” police said in a press release shortly after the incident.
The man was located after his vehicle had been involved in a collision, police said.
“During the course of taking the man into custody, there was an interaction between an officer and the man, both of whom were injured. The man and an RCMP officer were transported to and treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and have since been released.”
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC was called in to investigate the actions of the arresting officers.
Chief civilian director Ron MacDonald reviewed the evidence and determined that “reasonable grounds” exist to believe that the police officers may have committed offences “in relation to the use of force,” the IIO said in a statement issued on Oct. 22.
Two officers could face charges, one from each of the Sicamous and Salmon Arm detachments.
“As a result, and pursuant to Section 38.11 of the Police Act, the IIO has forwarded a report to the BC Prosecution Service for consideration of charges.”
The file is now in the hands of prosecutors who will determine if any charges will be laid.
The IIO is the independent civilian oversight agency of the police in B.C. and investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death.
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