No charges approved against officer involved in violent arrest in 100 Mile House

A cell phone video and dashcam footage from the scene in 100 Mile House shows the suspect going down an embankment then stopping and going to his knees. Cell phone footage shows an officer stomping on the back of the suspect, pushing their head down, then punching their side before they’re handcuffed and put in a police vehicle.

“The evidence of the officers here indicates that, despite initial compliance, the [suspect] was actively resisting officers’ attempts to handcuff him at the point at which the [officer] administered the blows,” BCPS states. “As such, the Crown would bear the burden of proving that the [suspect] was not legally justified in using force or that he exceeded what was reasonable in the circumstances.”

The incident began just before 9:00 a.m. on Oct. 25 after an erratic driver along Highway 1 in the Kamloops area was reported to RCMP. The caller reported that a silver pick-up was crossing on double solid lines, not staying in its lane and changing its speeds.

RCMP say inquiries on the truck showed that at a recent stop in Kamloops, the person driving it had a loaded handgun in their possession. Officers in neighbouring jurisdictions were advised to be on the look out for the vehicle.

An officer in Clinton found the vehicle but the driver fled at a high rate of speed after reportedly passing four vehicles on the wrong side of the road of a blind corner — putting himself and others in a dangerous situation.

The driver then failed to stop in 100 Mile House when officers tried to pull him over with lights and sirens. The driver also narrowly missed hitting an officer who tried to stop the truck in 150 Mile House.

A spike belt was successfully deployed outside of 150 Mile House and the driver continued to drive on bare rims until the vehicle hit another spike belt near White Road on Highway 97 in Williams Lake.

The driver then got out of the truck and ran down an embankment. While he appeared to be surrendering, police say he refused to comply with the officer’s commands to show his hands. With the suspect not complying, and officers aware that he may be armed, they struck the man to quickly gain control.

BCPS says the court would consider circumstances such as police finding a gun, mask and knife in the pickup truck, the dangerous and fast driving by the suspect, the suspect having one or both arms tucked under their body and resisting arrest, and the officer’s concerns that the suspect might have a weapon.

The suspect was arrested and a firearm was not found on him.

The full report can be read here.

by Aaron Schulze

No charges approved against officer involved in violent arrest in 100 Mile House

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