Police watchdog says charges should be considered against RCMP officers in Prince George arrest
Man was seriously injured in July 2020 arrest involving police dog
B.C.'s police watchdog is recommending charges be filed against two RCMP officers involved in a July 2020 arrest in the city of Prince George.
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) says the two officers may have committed offences during the arrest, in which a police dog was involved and a man sustained serious injuries.
According to the IIO report, the police officers were responding to a report of a stolen vehicle from Alberta located in a parking lot near the Prince George airport on July 30, 2020.
They found the vehicle parked in the 1400-block of Old Cariboo Highway with three people inside — one man and two women.
The report says when police arrived at the parking lot, all three occupants fled to a nearby forest, near Highway 16 East. The man was located with a police service dog. The report says "an interaction occurred" and the man sustained serious injuries while being taken into custody.
The two women were arrested without incident.
Paramedics were later called to the detachment to assess the man's injuries and he was taken to hospital for treatment.
The IIO investigation determined that reasonable grounds exist to believe that the two officers may have committed offences in relation to the use of force during the arrest.
The police oversight body has forwarded unspecified charges to the B.C. Prosecution Service for assessment and approval. The names of the officers have not been released.
"In order to approve any charges, the B.C. Prosecution Service must be satisfied that there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by the IIO, and that prosecution be required in the public interest," stated the report.