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October 01, 2019 - 4:30 PM
SURREY, B.C. - British Columbia's police watchdog has asked the prosecution service to consider charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon against an RCMP officer in Grand Forks after a male driver was left critically injured in an attempted traffic stop.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says initial information it received from the RCMP suggests officers tried to conduct a traffic stop at about 3:30 p.m. on May 10, 2018, after responding to reports of an erratic driver.
The office says the driver reportedly struck police vehicles and shots were fired by an RCMP officer.
The driver was taken to hospital with critical injuries and survived after medical treatment.
The civilian director of the police oversight agency says in a statement that he has determined reasonable grounds exist to believe an officer has committed an offence, and has forwarded a report to the prosecution service for consideration of charges.
The investigations office says if the Crown approves charges, it must be satisfied there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by its investigators and that the prosecution is in the public interest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2019.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019