FILE PHOTO
(KIM ANDERSON / iNFOnews.ca)
July 25, 2017 - 5:12 PM
VERNON - Crown counsel is now considering charges against a Mountie involved in a motor vehicle incident last summer near Vernon.
The Independent Investigations Office, B.C.’s police watchdog, has completed its investigation into a 2016 crash that resulted in a man and a woman sustaining serious injuries.
On Aug. 6, 2016, a police vehicle collided with a motorcycle carrying two people roughly eight kilometres east of Vernon on Highway 6. The 46-year-old man and 25-year-old woman, both from Kelowna, were taken to Vernon Jubilee Hospital, according to an RCMP release.
The Independent Investigations Office, which investigates when civilians are killed or seriously injured in officer-involved incidents, was called in to review the crash. The office wrapped up its investigation June 23, 2017 and forwarded a report to Crown counsel for consideration of charges.
“Pursuant to the Police Act, the Chief Civilian Director must refer a file to Crown Counsel for consideration of charges if the director identifies that an officer may have committed an offence under any enactment,” the office states.
The Independent Investigation Office’s referral standard is much lower than any other law enforcement agency in B.C., states the release.
“In approving charges, Crown Counsel must be satisfied not only that an offence may have been committed, but that the commission of an offence can be proven in court beyond a reasonable doubt,” it says.
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