No charges for B.C. RCMP officer who shot and injured impaired driving suspect

An RCMP officer who wounded an impaired driving suspect near Grand Forks, B.C., more than four years ago will not face charges.

The suspect was injured in a police-involved shooting that was connected to his arrest on May 10, 2018.

The incident prompted a probe by the B.C. Independent Investigations Office, whose civilian director determined there were reasonable grounds to believe the Mountie may have committed offences.

In a decision released Friday, however, the BC Prosecution Service said it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer “committed any offence in relation to the incident.”

According to the decision, on the morning of the incident, a member of the public had called 911 to report that the suspect was driving a white pickup truck with a trailer and was “all over the road.” Police patrols, though, were unable to find the truck at the time.

Later that afternoon, a conservation officer reported that same person was driving around “drunk,” and driving “way too fast.”

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Two RCMP officers located the suspect vehicle around 3:20 p.m., on March 18, 2018, and executed a traffic stop, the decision states.

The suspect drove away when an officer approached, however, and when RCMP found him again, three officers attended in three separate vehicles, including the officer who eventually shot Jones.

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According to the decision, the officers attempted to “box in the suspect’s truck,” but the suspect rammed his truck against the police vehicles.

One officer positioned his vehicle nose to the suspect vehicle’s nose, got out of his own car and attempted to make an arrest.

“When the suspect accelerated his vehicle towards the (subject officer) and his vehicle, the (subject officer) fired his police firearm four times into the cab of the suspect’s truck,” the decision states.

The suspect was shot in the shoulder and torso, treated in a nearby hospital, and charged with assault with a weapon, impaired and dangerous driving, and flight from police.

The BC Prosecution Service concluded that the evidence did not support charges against the officer.

Ronald MacDonald, chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office, however, said the summary embedded in that decision did not “transparently outline for the public important evidence the IIO presented on these issues.”

MacDonald said the IIO presented video evidence that was relevant to where the officer went when he left his car, whether he had moved out of danger, and then moved back toward the suspect’s vehicle as it moved forward, at which time the firearm was discharged.

“Although the IIO acknowledges the position of the (BC Prosecution Service) that the video is not clear enough to support a prosecution, their Clear Statement does not refer to the nature of this video evidence,” said the IIO’s Friday news release.

The IIO said it raised the issue to promote transparency about the investigation and the issues at play, as the video challenged whether the officer had objective grounds to “fear for his life and safety or took advantage of a reasonable alternate means of escape.”