Andrew Robert Hardenstine appears in this 2024 photo.

Image Credit: Osoyoos RCMP

All the charges have been dropped against a violent prolific offender who was tasered 10 times while being arrested by Penticton RCMP officers.

Last month, Crown prosecutors stayed all nine charges days after BC Supreme Court Justice Eric Gottardi found that Andrew Robert Hardenstine's Charter Rights were breached during his arrest.

The Justice found that Penticton RCMP constables Ballarin, Poulton, Harrison, Turundzev and Barrett, had made a multitude of mistakes when arresting Hardenstine near Okanagan Falls in April 2024.

"Unnecessary and inexplicable" was how the Justice described some of the errors.

Justice Gottardi said the officers knew they didn't have the grounds to pull Hardenstine's vehicle over when they did which was followed by a "painful and violent arrest."

The Justice said the force used by the officers was "close to the line" but the repeated use of the Taser made it "excessive in all the circumstances."

The Justice was also critical of the officers' testimony in court which he said was exaggerated. Dashcam footage found that much of what the officers said in court wasn't true, and while the Justice didn't find they'd colluded in the case, he said he had "significant concerns" about the officers' reliability and credibility.

"At best, some of these officers’ memories were inadvertently tainted by reviewing each others’ narratives," the Justice said.

If found guilty, Hardenstine would have been looking at a minimum of three years in jail for multiple weapons charges and assaulting a police officer. He may have faced significantly more jail time given his previous criminal record.

The 45-year-old still remains behind bars awaiting trial on charges of trafficking synthetic opioids para-fluorofentanyl and fentanyl, as well as trafficking methamphetamine. All the charges date back to September 2023 and also include obstructing a police officer.

Hardenstine has a lengthy criminal record with more than 60 convictions for violence, weapons and drugs, along with multiple breaches.

When the Penticton RCMP officers pulled him over in the early hours of the morning in April 2024 he was wanted on several outstanding warrants.

In 2020, Hardenstine made headlines when he sued the Okanagan Correctional Centre in Oliver for $14,000 claiming he'd been given "bad food" at the prison. It's unclear where the case went.

Hardenstine is scheduled in court next week.

None of the charges have yet been proven.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2025