No charges against Prince George, B.C., Mountie over 2020 death of Indigenous man

Prosecutors in British Columbia say they won't be charging an RCMP officer in connection with the death of an Indigenous man in Prince George in 2020.

A statement from the prosecution service says that although the province's independent watchdog said there were reasonable grounds to believe the officer may have committed an offence, the evidence available isn't enough for charges.

The statement says officers were called to a break-and-enter at a sporting goods store in April of 2020 and, after three hours, police deployed tear gas and sent in a police service dog.

The statement says the man, who was later identified as Everett Patrick of the Lake Babine Nation, was pulled to the ground by the dog and an officer who struck him did not break his fall and didn't see if his head hit the ground.

Patrick was medically cleared at a hospital but after arriving at the detachment he fell multiple times and was carried to his cell, where he was later found in medical distress.

He died more than a week later from what a pathologist said was a brain hemorrhage due to blunt force injuries.

IIO found 'reasonable grounds' offence may have been committed

According to a 2022 report from B.C.'s Independent Investigation Office, which investigates whether police action or inaction contributed to death or serious injury, there were reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have been committed by police in Patrick's death.

"Upon completion of the investigation, Chief Civilian Director Ronald J. MacDonald ... reviewed the evidence and determined that reasonable grounds exist to believe that an officer may have committed offences in relation to the standard of care Mr. Patrick received," the agency said in a statement at the time.

The report was forwarded to the B.C. Prosecution Service for consideration of charges but was not made publicly available.

On Thursday, the prosecutors' statement said the issue is whether the officer's actions after Patrick fell constitute a breach of the standard of care and whether they should have concluded there was a "marked change'' in the man's state of consciousness.

The statement notes that Patrick had been cleared by a hospital and was conscious, could speak and could respond appropriately to verbal communication even as he was being carried to his cell.