An RCMP officer involved in a December 2021 chase that ended with a young suspect being injured may face charges.
B.C.’s RCMP watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., filed a report with the BC Prosecution Service for consideration of charges related to the use of a police vehicle Dec. 3, 2021 during an arrest of a robbery suspect.
It was around 7:25 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2021, when Mounties got a report of a robbery and a theft in the vicinity of the Lansdowne Shopping Village.
“Officers observed a youth on a bicycle that they believed may be a suspect in both incidents near the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Lansdowne Street,” the IIO said in a report released Monday.
“The youth rode their bicycle into Riverside Park. Officers followed and took the youth into custody.”
It was during the arrest that the youth sustained a serious but not life-threatening injury.
Chief Civilian Director Ronald J. MacDonald said the evidence indicated that reasonable grounds exist to believe that one officer may have committed an offence in relation to the use of a police vehicle.
Now the IIO has forwarded a report to the BC Prosecution Service for consideration of charges.
In order to approve any charges, the BC Prosecution Service must be satisfied that there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by the IIO, and that prosecution be required in the public interest.