(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kamloops Mountie is off the hook after a jury found him not guilty of dangerous driving.

Const. Christopher Squire, 35, was charged after a 2018 stolen vehicle chase along Westsyde Road. He was one of a few officers involved, but Squire was the only one who was criminally charged.

After a jury trial that started last month, he was found innocent of any criminality today, March 13, Squire's lawyer Brad Smith told iNFOnews.ca.

On Dec. 8, 2018, Squire was involved in a police chase during which Kamloops RCMP officers tried to stop a driver in a stolen truck.

Squire eventually used a PIT maneuver near Grasslands Boulevard, forcing the front end of his cruiser into the back of the stolen truck. It spun 180 degrees and stopped, then officers took the injured suspect into custody.

Crown prosecutors didn't charge Squire based on the PIT maneuver, however. They were pursuing a dangerous driving charge because of the high speed chase before the PIT maneuver, when Squire was supposed to be using surveillance techniques.

Supervising officers called off the chase and directed Squire to keep his distance from the suspect in an unmarked cruiser at around 12:30 a.m.

He followed the stolen truck to Elder Road, but it turned around back toward Westsyde Road. The court was shown dashcam footage of the chase, which picked up speed after officers turned southbound on Westsyde Road again.

Squire was driving at speeds over 100 km/h to keep up with the stolen truck, which eventually ended up near Grasslands Boulevard where more officers were waiting with a spike belt.

The stolen truck veered into the ditch to avoid the spike belt, nearly hitting another officer in the process. When the truck emerged back onto the road, Squire used the PIT maneuver to stop the truck.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. referred the file to the B.C. Prosecution Service, which later charged Squire in 2020.

The police watchdog investigated three officers, but only Squire was charged.

Squire and Const. Lane Tobin, another officer involved in the chase, were both disciplined following an RCMP code of conduct investigation.

Tobin described the arrest as "exceptional police work" and "felt proud" of the work they did that night. He was "demoralized" later by the internal investigation after the high-speed Westsyde chase.

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