Crown considers charges against Grand Forks RCMP officer involved in shooting
Credit to Author: Scott Brown| Date: Tue, 01 Oct 2019 21:17:29 +0000
Charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon are being considered against a B.C. RCMP officer in connection with a traffic stop shooting that left a man with critical injuries last year.
The incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. on May 10, 2018 in Grand Forks, a city of 5,000 along the B.C.-Washington border in province’s southern interior.
The RCMP say its officers were attempting to stop a car after receiving reports of an erratic driver, when the driver allegedly started ramming police cruisers in order to evade the law. That’s when one RCMP officer opened fire.
The male driver, whose name has not been released, suffered critical injuries, which he survived.
The Independent Investigation Office of B.C., a civilian oversight agency that investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, has determined reasonable grounds exist to believe the officer committed an offence.
The IIO has forwarded its report to the B.C. Prosecution Service for consideration of charges.
“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 in the public interest,” the IIO said in a statement.
The RCMP officer’s name has not been released.