FILE PHOTO.

Image Credit: Independent Investigations Office Of B.C.

A North Okanagan police officer who was clocked doing 171 km/h chasing after an erratic driver on Highway 97A near Armstrong failed to adhere to RCMP policy but won't face criminal charges, according to B.C.'s police watchdog.

A Jan. 23 report from the Independent Investigations Office Of B.C. says instead the officer could face an internal conduct proceeding stemming from the car chase that took place in December 2021.

The chase left the driver and passenger of the vehicle seriously injured after they crashed shortly after the officer had stopped pursuing them.

The report doesn't name either the RCMP officer or the driver or passenger.

The report states that on Dec. 21, 2021, the officer in question attempted to pull over a vehicle that had just passed him at high speed on Highway 97A north of Armstrong.

The RCMP officer then put his emergency lights on and pursued the vehicle at speeds up to 171 km/h.

The report says the suspect vehicle was driving "erratically" and "passing semis on (the) right-hand side."

The police officer then lost sight of the vehicle and it was found shortly afterwards to have crashed and ended up in a field.

Both the driver and passenger were seriously injured and taken to hospital. The driver was found to have been prohibited from driving and had cocaine in his system.

The investigations office became involved because of the possible connection between the crash and the actions of the RCMP officer.

There were no witnesses to the crash, but a civilian did hear it and said they say a vehicle in a field. The civilian said it took about 10 minutes before the emergency services showed up.

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The investigations office said there was no link between the erratic driver's behaviour and the actions of the RCMP officer.

However, the chief civilian director Ronald J. MacDonald was critical of the RCMP officer for pursuing the driver at high speed.

The report stated that while an RCMP officer is permitted to drive at high speeds as long as any risk to the public is minimal, RCMP officers are not allowed to do so if an officer has attempted a traffic stop that wasn't successful.

"This was a case in which the officer failed to adhere to RCMP policy," the report read. "When the target vehicle did not stop, (the officer) should have simply turned off his emergency equipment, pulled over and stopped.

"Canadian police forces have now recognized that continuing a high-speed pursuit in response to a relatively minor offence by a suspect has the potential to create a greater risk of harm than it prevents, to everyone involved and to the general public."

The Independent Investigations Office did not recommend Crown counsel pursue charges in the form of a speeding ticket, but it did refer the officer to the RCMP for a conduct hearing.

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