More than three years after shots were fired during an interaction between Burnaby RCMP and two robbery suspects, B.C.’s police watchdog is forwarding the case to the B.C. Prosecution Service for possible charges against the officer or officers involved.
The Independent Investigations Office was called to Burnaby in the early morning hours of March 1, 2015.
Local RCMP officers had been driving on patrol by Canada Way and Edmonds Street at about 3 a.m., when they came across an apparent robbery in progress at a 7-Eleven there.
The officers tried to arrest two male suspects, but the men fled in a vehicle, ramming a police vehicle in the process, according to an RCMP press release at the time.
Shots were fired, and the suspects drove off.
Police later found the suspect vehicle after it crashed near Canada Way and Rosewood Avenue.
One of the suspects was found nearby suffering from a serious injury, possibly caused by a gunshot.
The IIO sent investigators to both the 7-Eleven and the scene of the crash.
On Friday, the watchdog announced it had completed its investigation and was filing a report to the B.C. Prosecution Service.
It will now be up to the Crown to decide whether or not to approve charges against the officer or officers involved.
“In approving charges, B.C. Prosecution Service must be satisfied there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by the IIO and that the prosecution is in the public interest,” stated an IIO press release.
The watchdog said it wouldn’t be making any further comments on the case as it was now with the Crown.
