(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

The RCMP officer who fired four or five bullets into a man’s car north of Salmon Arm in January and killing the driver was protecting his own life, according to the Investigations Office of B.C.

The shooting and death came after a lengthy police standoff in January in Tappen.

Police were called at about 7 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2020 about a man who had damaged a trailer with an axe in a rural area north of Shuswap Lake, according to a detailed explanation prepared by the IIO.

When police arrived, they noticed footprints leading to a house. They knocked and, after a bit, the man appeared and seemed to be videotaping them.

The man is identified in the report only as AP, meaning “Affected Person.”

Once a police officer told him he was under arrest, he went back into the house and came out wielding a knife. A police officer pulled her gun and pointed it at him while another officer called for backup.

There ensued a lengthy standoff with AP refusing to respond to police efforts to negotiate.

Police planned to arrest him under the Mental Health Act.

At one point, AP came through his door wielding a fireman's axe. Another time when he came out, he was shot with a “less lethal sponge round.” He fell to the ground but was able to crawl back inside.

In the end, feeling they were running out of time in the freezing temperatures, police fired teargas into the house.

AP did flee the house, managed to get into his vehicle and, despite a spike belt having been laid down earlier, started heading around the house and towards the street.

Nine police officers testified as to what happened next. The officer who fired the shots, identified only as SO – Subject Officer – was not required to provide evidence and did not.

The others testified that AP started speeding down his driveway towards two officers. The driveway was bordered by two-foot high snow banks and the ground was icy and very slippery.

All the testimony pointed to the fact that SO was in risk of being seriously injured.

“The vehicle was accelerating, it was cooking, he was going fast, you could hear the sound of the vehicle accelerating towards [SO],” one officer testified.

One officer estimated the vehicle was traveling at 30 to 40 kilometres per hour.

“I honestly thought I was going to watch my teammate get run over even if he did shoot,” another officer testified. “I don’t believe there was, there was another viable option for him to get out of the path of the vehicle.”

SO shot four or five times. The exact number is unclear because five shots hit the truck but only four shells were found.

Two bullets hit the driver, one hit the headrest and two hit the engine as the vehicle veered to the side and came to a sudden halt.

Efforts to save the man failed and he was pronounced dead on the scene at 3:36 a.m.

Ronald J. MacDonald, the chief civilian director of the investigation office, wrote that all appropriate steps had been taken to negotiate with the man before firing the tear gas into the home.

“While there may have been tactical errors in the apparent failure to fully immobilize and block AP’s vehicle, any such error does not, in this case, rise to the level of criminal negligence,” he wrote.

MacDonald went on to say that SO and another officer were trapped in the pathway of the vehicle “and it was reasonable for SO to conclude that his life was in immediate danger and that the use of lethal force against AP was justified.

“Normally, immediately moving out of the way of a speeding vehicle would be the choice more likely to benefit SO. However, the fact he chose to fire would appear to confirm that he judged, because of the conditions, that attempting to get out of the way was more dangerous to him than taking the time to raise his gun and fire.

“This would appear to confirm that the condition of the slippery footing and snowbanks made moving too difficult. As such, both practically and at law, it was reasonable for SO to use his firearm to protect himself.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 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. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2020