RCMP officer charged with manslaughter in 2015 traffic stop shooting

VICTORIA – An RCMP officer has been charged with manslaughter after a man was fatally shot at a traffic stop in southern B.C. more than three years ago.

The Independent Investigations Office has said officers were responding to a driving complaint in Castlegar on Jan. 29, 2015, when an officer shot a man.

Waylon Edey, a 39-year-old Yahk resident, died in hospital.

The BC Prosecution Service says a charge of manslaughter using a firearm was approved Tuesday against Cst. Jason Tait, an officer with the RCMP’s West Kootenay Traffic Unit.

He is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Castlegar on April 30.

An RCMP spokeswoman says Tait is currently on paid administrative leave.

The prosecution service says the case was investigated by the Independent Investigations Office and Crown counsel reviewed the available evidence before the charge was laid.

The Independent Investigations Office probes all cases of police-involved serious injuries or death across B.C.