(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)

Two police officers won't be facing criminal charges after a violent arrest in Salmon Arm left a suspect seriously injured.

The suspect was taken to hospital on April 14, 2020, after the arrest. He was left with broken facial bones, he was cut up and bruised, and doctors later removed his left testicle due to his injuries.

Dashcam footage from the scene showed police kicking the suspect after he was tackled to the ground, but the video evidence was "sparse and incomplete," according to a B.C. Prosecution Service news release.

The suspect was wanted on eight warrants and had already fled police four times, according to the news release.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. recommended assault charges for two Salmon Arm mounties in October 2021, but 11 months later, the prosecution service announced it would not be pursuing those charges.

"In this case, the (prosecution service) has concluded that the available evidence does not meet the... charge assessment standard," the news release reads. "The (prosecution service) is not able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that either officer committed any offence in relation to the incident."

Salmon Arm RCMP were called to a forest service road off Highway 97A near Sicamous on April 14, around 12 p.m., for a suspicious person report.

The vehicle described was a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis, which led police to believe the suspect was a "repeat property offender" who was living in his car.

The suspect fled police, driving over a spike belt and ramming a police cruiser, before leaving the vehicle and running down the highway.

One of the officers then tackled him and the suspect landed with his face down on the road.

The officer then hit the suspect in the head with their "hand or fist," before the second officer arrived just seconds later.

Four seconds of dashcam footage "suggests" the second officer kicked and punched the suspect, but doesn't show where he was hit.

He was eventually placed in handcuffs and arrested when more officers arrived at the scene, who all claimed the suspect's five-inch hunting knife was about a metre away from him on the ground during the arrest.

Neither of the two officers under investigation gave statements to the province's police watchdog. The other five at the scene cooperated, but weren't there at the time of the alleged assault.

The suspect, however, struggled to remember the arrest, according to the release.

He was under the influence of "several illegal drugs" at the time, and he couldn't identify which officer hit him or how.

He did say, however, that he wasn't injured when he rammed the police cruiser.

"He stated he was tackled by numerous officers, landing face first, and beaten severely. He admitted that other than that, his recollection is vague. He said it felt like six guys punching him the entire time," the news release reads.

Paramedics arrived at the scene around 1:44 p.m., where the suspect was "writhing in pain."

He had cuts and abrasions on his face, the back of his head and a bruise on his left hand.

He also had trauma to his testes, according to the release.

"He said he was struck in the face and testicles at the same time, perhaps by the same person," the release reads.

Once at the hospital, doctors removed his left testicle due to the trauma, and x-rays showed he had fractures to his left orbital bone and nasal bone.

He also tested positive for cannabis, methamphetamines, narcotics and cocaine, according to the release.

The prosecution service could not prove whether the use of force was reasonable or not given the evidence, concluding that there was no "substantial likelihood" of conviction for the assault charges.

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