High-speed Armstrong crash not fault of pursuing RCMP officer: police watchdog

A high-speed, single-vehicle crash that seriously injured two people near Armstrong, B.C., in December 2021 was not the fault of the RCMP officer who was briefly in pursuit, B.C.’s police watchdog has found.

That, however, does not mean that there were no issues with the officer’s driving and the matter will be referred to an internal RCMP conduct proceeding.

The crash happened on the evening of Dec. 1, 2021, on Highway 97A north of Armstrong after an unnamed officer attempted to pull over a vehicle that had just passed him at high speed, according to a report issued by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.

For a short while, according to the report, the officer followed in pursuit, reaching speeds upward of 170 kilometres an hour.

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The officer stopped after witnessing erratic driving, but the vehicle crashed shortly thereafter, leaving the highway at a bend, which seriously injured two occupants of the vehicle.

Due to the potential connection between serious harm and the actions of a police officer, the Independent Investigations Office investigated, though it found that the evidence did not establish a link between the driver’s driving behaviour, including the loss of control that led to the crash, and any action by the officer involved.

“The suspect vehicle was already moving at high speed when it passed (the officer’s) marked police vehicle, and stayed a considerable distance ahead of him,” chief civilian officer Ronald J. MacDonald said in a report issued Monday.

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“The crash appears to have been the result of (the driver) swerving hard to the left as he approached the town, when (another officer’s) parked police vehicle, its lights flashing, would have been clearly visible directly ahead of him.”

The officer that had been in pursuit did speed up, according to the report, and MacDonald said that what they did amounted to “closing the distance” with the suspect car in an attempt to conduct a traffic stop.

“For that purpose, as long as any risk to the public is minimal, a police officer is excused from liability for a speeding offence by provisions in the Motor Vehicle Act and the Emergency Vehicle Driving Regulation,” MacDonald wrote.

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“The immunity granted by those provisions is limited, however, and does not permit an officer to continue into a pursuit if the traffic stop is not successful.”

This was a case in which the officer failed to adhere to RCMP policy, which reflects provincial motor vehicle law.

“When the target vehicle did not stop, (the officer) should have simply turned off his emergency equipment, pulled over and stopped,” MacDonald wrote.

“Canadian police forces have now recognized that continuing a high speed pursuit in response to a relatively minor offence by a suspect has the potential to create a greater risk of harm than it prevents, to everyone involved and to the general public.”

As the chief civilian director of the IIO, MacDonald has discretion to refer a potential offence to Crown counsel for consideration of charges — in this case for a speeding ticket — or to refer the matter to the RCMP to be dealt with internally.

“I consider the latter outcome to be more appropriate in this case, and (the officer’s) driving behaviour will be referred formally to RCMP for a conduct proceeding. There will be no referral to Crown counsel.”