The BC Prosecution Service has decided not to charge a 100 Mile House RCMP officer who was involved in a controversial arrest back in October of 2020.
A suspect led police on an extensive pursuit that went from Kamloops, through Clinton and 100 Mile, and ended just outside of 150 Mile.
Police say the suspect vehicle, a Chevrolet pickup truck, was driving erratically and dangerously and at some points narrowly missed other vehicles and a police officer who was standing beside his vehicle at a check stop.
The suspect drove over four spike belts but continued on his rims before finally getting stuck on a shoulder embankment along Highway 97.
RCMP say the suspect then got out of the vehicle and ran down a steep embankment.
Cell phone video recordings from civilians at the scene appeared to show an RCMP member running down the embankment and kicking and punching a suspect while he was on the ground with another member already on top of him.
While the injuries sustained by the man did not meet the required threshold of serious harm under the Police Act, the Independent Investigations Office of BC was asked to look into the incident because of significant public scrutiny.
The IIO determined that reasonable grounds existed to believe that one of the officers involved may have committed an offence in relation to the use of force during the arrest.
The BC Prosecution Service, in its final report, determined that the crown would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the force used in this arrest was unreasonable or disproportionate to the risk.
In its analysis, it says the evidence of the officers indicated that the suspect was actively resisting attempts to handcuff him at the point when the second officer was administering the blows.
The BC Prosecution Service also noted that other circumstances that the court would consider included concerns that the suspect might have a weapon as the same pickup was searched by police 10 days earlier and a loaded handgun was seized from it.
It also acknowledged that the reckless, high speed, and dangerous driving of the suspect indicated a willingness to endanger the safety of officers and members of the public.
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