Vernon RCMP

(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)

VERNON – The province’s police watchdog says a Vernon RCMP officer had nothing to do with a cyclist getting hurt over the summer.

The Independent Investigations Office released its findings into the incident this week, saying there was no relationship between the injury and the actions of the officer.

A Vernon RCMP officer attempted to pull over a ‘suspicious person’ riding his bike in an ‘S’ pattern the night of June 28. The man refused to stop after the cop activated his emergency lights and a brief pursuit followed. The man cut through a backyard, hopped a fence and got away.

Shortly after the cop gave up the search, he was flagged down and notified of a car accident that reportedly happened at 9:31 p.m. The man involved in the police chase sustained a serious injury to his wrist.

“Initial information reported to the IIO suggested the injury to the affected person was directly related to the actions of the officer,” states a release from the investigations office.

Investigators interviewed civilian witnesses, the affected person and two officers – the subject officer who was in contact with the affected person and a witness officer. The information confirmed a significant time delay between the time the officer commanded the man to stop and the time of the car accident. The man said he was unaware he was being pursued by police and that his first recall of police presence was when an officer held and supported his neck after the collision.

In order for the office to sustain jurisdiction, the Chief Civilian Director must be satisfied a person died or was seriously injured and that there was a relationship to an officer’s actions. In this case, that test was not met and as such, the director has released jurisdiction and has no further interest.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

News from © iNFOnews, 2014