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Attempted murder, assault charges recommended against officer in B.C. shooting

The incident occurred in May 2018
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RCMP block off a section of Donaldson Drive in Grand Forks in May 2018, after police fired shots at a man who was reportedly driving erratically. (Kathleen Saylors/Grand Forks Gazette)

An independent police watchdog has recommended that charges be laid against an RCMP officer after a Grand Forks man was shot on May 10, 2018.

The report, released Tuesday from the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO), recommended that charges “including attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon” be laid against the officer.

The police watchdog forwarded the report to the B.C. Prosecution Service after having “determined that reasonable grounds exist to believe an officer has committed an offence,” the release said.

The incident occurred in May 2018 when local RCMP officers responded to a report of a car being “driven erratically” around 3:30 p.m. near the west end of Grand Forks.

“Officers attempted to stop the vehicle,” RCMP said in a release at the time. “The driver allegedly attempted to evade police by ramming into several police vehicles. In the course of the interaction with the driver, shots were fired by police.”

“In approving charges, the B.C. Prosecution Service must be satisfied there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by the IIO and that the prosecution is required in the public interest,” the IIO said Tuesday.

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