Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Dustin Blondin
March 23, 2021 - 2:23 PM
The Okanagan Mountie involved in a road check that ended in injury has been cleared of wrongdoing by B.C.’s police watchdog.
The incident occurred in Lake Country Sept. 11, 2020, when a blue 2012 Mazda 3 on Highway 97 near Lodge Road was pulled over for speeding. Kelowna man Dustin Blondin, 27, alleged that Const. Julius Prommer broke his hand in an unprovoked attack after he'd pulled over.
“An interaction occurred during the traffic stop which resulted in the driver sustaining a serious injury,” the Independent Investigations Office said in a press release.
“The Chief Civilian Director has reviewed the evidence, including statements from an independent witness, the affected person, and police members involved, medical records, video sources, and police records, and determined that there are no reasonable grounds to believe that any officer has committed an offence.”
Accordingly, the matter will not be referred to Crown Counsel for consideration of charges and the investigation is now concluded.
While the criminal arm of the case is over, the matter is still the subject of a civil suit.
In that suit, Blondin said after he was stopped by Brommer, he was told his car would be impounded and was requested to remove anything of importance from his car.
While removing the items, Blondin was allegedly thrown to the ground by Prommer and his colleague.
“Prommer continued his unprovoked attack on the plaintiff by twisting the plaintiff’s hand until the bone in the centre of the plaintiff’s hand was broken,” according to the civil suit.
Blondin was then transported to the RCMP detachment when he was in need of medical attention, according to the suit.
Due to the civil suit, the independent investigators will not be issuing its usual public report until the conclusion of that court process and will not comment further.
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