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A Vernon North Okanagan RCMP officer who punched a suspect in the head after he'd been taken down by a police dog did not use too much force says the B.C. police watchdog.

According to a Feb. 24 report from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., the unnamed Vernon North Okanagan RCMP officer did not use "unreasonable or excessive force" either in their blows to the head or the use of the police dog.

The incident dates back to November 2021 when the Vernon RCMP was investigating a suspicious van and the theft of licence plates in the Enderby area.

On Nov. 11, 2021, a van with a stolen plate was spotted by police outside a rural property near Enderby. The van had previously been seen doing speeds of 160 km/h and an RCMP officer called for backup and a police dog.

The report says a resident at the property denied the suspect was there, but then officers saw the suspect at the back of the house.

The officer told the suspect to stop and that he was under arrest, and when he didn't he released his police dog.

Both the suspect and the RCMP officer have different versions of what happened next.

"(I was) walking back from my friend's house to go to Tim Horton's, and all of a sudden a police dog attacked me. And what made me mad was three officers watched this dog chew my arm for, like, half an hour or 45 minutes. That's all I have to say ... well, they were punching me. They just beat the shit out of me," the suspect told the police watchdog.

The police officer's version is quite different.

"The witness officers described (the suspect) struggling with significant strength, both against the dog and against the officers. The Police Service Dog was gripping (the suspect's) left arm and (another officer) was having difficulty controlling his right arm," the report says.

The report says an officer put his knee on the suspect's back and then did a "full mount" by lying on the suspect's back and getting him in a headlock.

The dog then released the suspect but he continued to resist while officers were trying to put handcuffs on him. The officer admitted he then punched the suspect several times in the side of the head.

The suspect was taken to hospital with a broken arm and "substantial" lacerations that required stitches from the dog bite. He also had bruises and abrasions on his face and fractures of his right sinus and a nasal bone.

"Medical records indicate that (the suspect) was yelling, swearing and uncooperative during admission to hospital," the report reads.

While the suspect claimed he'd been badly beaten by police, the watchdog didn't agree and dismissed his version of events.

"There is a bald allegation from (the suspect) that three officers essentially attacked him while he was innocently going about his business, let a police dog chew on his arm for as long as 45 minutes and then severely beat him," the watchdog said. "The difficulty with that allegation, though, is that it is contradicted by all other available evidence. Significantly, it does not seem to correspond to the account given by (another witness) who is apparently (his) friend."

The report says that the suspect had been taken into custody three days early and photographs taken at the time showed he had a "significant" laceration of his forehead, along with cuts, abrasions, and bruising around his eye and nose.

"The evidence as a whole establishes that he was non-
compliant and that he failed to stop... when ordered to do so. That failure made the use of the Police Service Dog to apprehend him a use of force within the justifiable range," the watchdog said.

"Overall, this was not just a property crime case which might suggest this level of force was not called for. Rather, (the suspect) had stolen a vehicle, was creating risk to the public by driving dangerously, was clearly unwilling to stop for police when told to do so, and had a recent history of arrest for other offences," the report reads. "In addition, he was warned to stop by police and did not, and it would have been obvious that they had a dog present. In those circumstances, it was reasonable for the dog to be used to prevent (the suspect) from escaping."

Ultimately, the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. concluded the Vernon RCMP officer's use of force was completely justified.

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