Police watchdog suggests Okanagan RCMP officer face charges in serious crash

BC's police watchdog is recommending an RCMP officer be criminally charged after colliding with a truck in Okanagan Falls last summer.

The Independent Investigations Office of BC has forwarded its report to the BC Prosecution Service, which will ultimately decide whether the officer will head to court.

Last summer, a BC Highway Patrol officer was heading to another incident when they collided with a civilian pickup truck, according to an IIO media release issued today, April 18. Both the driver and passenger were injured.

The collision happened at around 7 p.m., July 10, 2022, at the intersection of Maple Street and 10 Avenue in Okanagan Falls, where paramedics picked up the two civilians and took them to the hospital. One of them had serious injuries, but the watchdog didn't describe those injuries nor say whether it was the driver or passenger who was seriously hurt.

The watchdog also didn't say what criminal charges it's recommending the officer be charged with.

No other information was released by the Independent Investigations Office.

The IIO is the independent civilian oversight agency of the police in B.C. It investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.

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