An RCMP officer could face charges in relation to an arrest which left a man with serious dog-bite injuries.
B.C.’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), released a report on Monday (Feb. 22) which said there are reasonable grounds to believe the officer may have committed offences in relation to using a police service dog.
The incident took place on the morning of July 12, 2020, when the Abbotsford Police Department responded to a report of a man barricading himself with a child in a residence in the 2000 block of Center Street. The RCMP’s Integrated Police Dog Service unit was called in to take the man into custody, resulting in serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries from dog bites.
After the IIO investigation, the chief civilian director Ronald J. MacDonald reviewed the evidence and forwarded the report to the BC Prosecution Service to consider charges. The IIO will not be making any further comment on the case.
In order for charges to be approved, prosecutors must be satisfied of a substantial likelihood of conviction and that moving forward is in the public interest.
B.C.’s IIO is the independent civilian oversight agency of police, and investigates all officer-related incidents resulting in serious harm or death.
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