B.C. police watchdog clears officers of criminality in shooting death of veteran

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – British Columbia’s police watchdog has cleared officers of criminal wrongdoing in the shooting death of a retired soldier in northern B.C. after reviewing evidence presented in a coroners inquest.

The Independent Investigations Office conducted a supplemental review after a pathologist testified Greg Matters was shot in the back, contrary to what the agency said in a report.

Richard Rosenthal of the agency says there is no new evidence suggesting any of the officers involved in the shooting death of Matters may have committed a criminal offence.

The agency says it won’t refer the case to Crown counsel.

Matters, who was being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder at the time, was shot and killed by RCMP during a standoff in September 2012 outside a home he shared with his mother near Prince George.

Police went to the house to arrest Matters on a charge of assaulting his brother.

Officers said they had no choice but to shoot Matters because he was brandishing a hatchet and approaching an officer who had fallen and could not defend himself.