Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Salmon Arm Police Shooting

Crown will not bring charges against Salmon Arm Mounties after 2015 shooting

May 16, 2019 | 12:37 PM

SALMON ARM, B.C. — The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) has announced it will not pursue charges against a pair of Salmon Arm RCMP officers after a non-fatal shooting near the Shuswap city in 2015. The decision comes after the BCPS received an investigation report from BC’s Independent Investigations Office (IIO).

The incident began on July 3, 2015, when a suspect who had robbed a Sicamous gas station at gunpoint fled westbound on the Trans Canada Highway. RCMP set up a loose containment between Sicamous and Salmon Arm, but the suspect maneuvered his vehicle through the containment and continued westbound.

While the suspect was weaving through the containment, an officer fired a shot toward the vehicle, though it didn’t strike anything.

Later, when police located the vehicle at a farm east of Salmon Arm, a second officer with a service dog tracked the suspect into an unlit storage room in an unused barn. As the service dog grabbed hold of the suspect’s thigh, the suspect swung a baseball bat, hitting the officer and his firearm. During the course of the struggle, the officer fire several shots, some of which hit the suspect.

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The suspect was apprehended, taken to hospital and survived his injuries.

In its report, the BCPS says it could not prove the actions of either officer were excessive, and thus concluded there was no substantial likelihood of conviction.