Three local police officers may soon be facing charges over the death of Jared Lowndes in the Willow Point Tim Hortons drive-thru two years ago.
The Independent Investigations Office says in a statement today that “reasonable grounds exist to believe that three officers may have committed offences in relation to various uses of force.”
On July 8, 2021, police attempted to arrest Lowndes in the drive-thru after boxing in his vehicle with police cruisers. In the incident, police dog Gator was fatally stabbed, a police officer received a knife wound, and RCMP officers fired shots at the vehicle, killing Jared Lowndes.
Today the IIO submitted its investigation report to the BC Prosecution Service for consideration of charges against the officers. The matter is now before the courts.
Meanwhile the National Police Federation is speaking up in defence of the officers.
“We support full and transparent reviews of complaints against Members of the RCMP and these must be thorough, timely, and transparent. The two plus years it has taken to get to this point is unacceptable, creating stress and trauma for our Members, and everyone involved,” says federation president and CEO Brian Sauvé in a statement. “Our members have been the subject of protests, harassment, and unfair and unwarranted speculation about their actions in the media and court of public opinion.”
“Our members protect their communities: all residents of their communities. While it’s important to respect the ongoing investigation, the public facts of this incident matter. The subject had an outstanding warrant for their arrest. The police tried to execute that warrant and take him into custody. The subject’s actions included evading police, murdering a police service dog, and injuring a member of the RCMP. These actions led the officers involved to assess the threat and act accordingly to protect themselves, other members, and the Campbell River community.”
“Police react to behaviours that are presented by the individual’s they interact with. It’s important to acknowledge that any loss of life is tragic and traumatic for everyone involved, including our Members. No one starts a shift expecting a fatal incident, and our members are highly trained in de-escalation techniques which resolve the majority of police interactions. In Canada, any use-of-force is exceedingly rare, with an average of nearly three million calls for service annually and less than 1/10th of 1% (0.1%) resulting in any use-of-force.”
“We stand with all the members involved and will be monitoring the situation closely.”
Related: Family files civil lawsuit over death of man fatally shot by police in drive-thru
