Fiancée of man shot in Duncan skid-steer chase exploring legal action

Fiancée of man shot in Duncan skid-steer chase exploring legal action
CHEK

More than a week after a man was shot by police after allegedly stealing a skid-steer in Duncan, his fiancée says she’s exploring legal action.

“It’s killing me, it’s really hard to see him like this,” said Sarah Brown.

On March 28, police were chasing a man who reportedly was impaired, driving a skid-steer through residential roads before the incident ended in Evans Park in Duncan.

Police attempted to stop the driver, which resulted in damages to their vehicles. One officer eventually fired his weapon, striking the man and leaving him in a life-threatening condition.

The Independent Investigations Office has now taken over the case.

READ MORE: Man driving skid-steer shot in the head by police in North Cowichan

32-year-old Davin Cochrane was identified as the driver by his family and is currently in an induced coma at Victoria General Hospital.

“Feel like I’m in a nightmare, I wish it was a nightmare and I’d just wake up to him beside me holding me because none of this makes sense. That’s not my Davin that was driving,” said Brown.

Brown says Cochrane has a history of mental health issues and a previous criminal record, but says in the last few years he has been able to move past it with a new job and taking care of their family.

Since the incident, Brown has taken several long trips between Ladysmith and Victoria to visit her fiancé.

“He’s not the same person and he’s going to need a lot of help,” she said.

Brown was informed the day after the incident that Cochrane had been involved in another earlier car accident in the early hours of March 28, and was admitted to a hospital in Duncan.

At some point, Cochrane managed to leave the hospital and allegedly went on to steal the skid-steer.

“I didn’t get a phone call, so I didn’t even know that he was involved in a car accident, so I was really concerned, I couldn’t reach him,” said Brown.

READ MORE: North Cowichan woman wishes she called police about skid-steer before shooting

Brown is now exploring legal action against the hospital and RCMP. She says better tactics should have been conducted to protect Cochrane.

“I mean these guys should be trained. He went right for the kill shot in the head,” said Brown.

Brown believes it’ll be at least another month before her fiancé wakes up.

The couple had plans to celebrate their anniversary on April 8, but now Brown says she’ll be spending Easter by his side, in the hospital.

Oli HerreraOli Herrera

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