Mounties in Ladysmith, BC, used their police vehicle to stop a white Pontiac Montana minivan in the 100-block of Highway 1 when the driver failed to pull over shortly after midnight on April 17, 2021. Officers used a police dog to subdue the driver, who suffered serious bite injuries. The man was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries and the Office of Independent Investigations of P.K. immediately launched an investigation into the actions of the police. On Thursday, police said they had submitted their investigative report to the BC Attorney’s Office for consideration of charges against one of the officers. Ronald J. MacDonald, the IIO’s chief political officer, reviewed the evidence and found that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that an officer may have committed an offense in connection with his driving and the use of a police dog,” the IIO said. in the one statement. “For any charges to be approved, the BC Attorney’s Office must be satisfied that there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by the IIO and that a prosecution is required in the public interest,” the agency said. The IIO is the civilian organization charged with investigating all police-involved incidents in BC that result in death or serious injury, whether or not there is an allegation of police misconduct. The IIO said it would not comment further on the case now that it is before the Crown for consideration of the charges.
