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(KIM ANDERSON / iNFOnews.ca)

Three Penticton police officers have avoided charges after a motorcyclist crashed following a brief chase in June.

The rider was on a stolen motorcycle and the crash left him with serious injuries. Although police tried to stop him, they aren't to blame for the crash, according to an Independent Investigations Office of BC report.

Police were called to a residential area on June 20 for a report of two suspicious motorcycle riders. They were reported to be "checking out" houses in the area around 3:40 a.m.

The first officer found them shortly after the call and confirmed their behaviour was "suspicious," but he didn't chase them. He kept his lights off and thought they didn't see him, but he watched them speed off and lost sight of the riders, according to the report.

While parked beside another officer to discuss the situation, the two motorcycles pulled up slowly behind. As they passed, they sped away again and both officers began to chase.

The first officer was closer and briefly sped beyond the speed limit in an attempt to close the distance, but backed off as the chase could have become dangerous. He pulled over to the side and was already stopped by the time the other Mountie passed him.

That officer continued to follow at a moderate speed with no emergency lights on. He came upon the motorcycle crash quite soon after.

The rider was trapped under the motorcycle and a civilian helped lift it away. The rider was unconscious, but he was breathing. He was later found to have injuries to his spine, brain and shoulder, but the report didn't detail the extent of those injuries.

BC's police watchdog review dash cam footage and spoke with witnesses, including the rider that crashed.

He told investigators he was riding with another man that he didn't actually know. When asked why he fled from police, he said it was because he didn't have a licence on the bike.

He also told them a police vehicle cut in front of the other rider and almost hit him, but he couldn't remember what caused the crash. The claim wasn't supported by video evidence, according to the report.

He blood test showed he had methamphetamines, opioids, MDMA and benzodiazepines in his system at the time, while police found "a quantity" of methamphetamine in his backpack.

Chief civilian director Ronald J. McDonald said there were no reasonable grounds to suspect the three officers at the scene committed an offence and closed the investigation.

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