Officer conducting traffic stop acted appropriately prior to crash in Courtenay: IIO

An officer acted appropriately in an incident where they attempted to pull over a driver who failed to stop for sirens, later crashing their vehicle, B.C.’s police watchdog says.

The Independent Investigations Office said an RCMP officer was conducting traffic patrols and radar enforcement on Headquarters Road between Bridges and Rennison roads just early Friday afternoon when they saw a vehicle speeding southbound.

The officer, who was heading northbound, made a U-turn and tried to close the distance with the dark-coloured sedan. The Mountie later found the vehicle off the right side of the road following an apparent collision with a utility pole.

The driver was ejected from the vehicle and later found in a ditch, then transported to hospital for treatment.

On Monday, the IIO said footage obtained from two witnesses and video footage from the police vehicle shows that the officer remained a fair distance throughout the attempted traffic stop.

It also found that the injuries sustained by the driver don’t meet the threshold for serious harm as defined by the Police Act.

“The officer was acting appropriately in attempting to conduct a traffic stop. The IIO investigation is now concluded,” the watchdog said in a statement.

The RCMP is investigating the collision.

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