Mountie cleared after two years under cloud

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. keeps shooting itself in the foot when it comes to its relationship with provincial police agencies. Two years ago, the IIO recommended charges be filed against RCMP Const. David Buchanan over his “slowspeed pursuit” of an unlicensed moped.

The vehicle was being driven erratically by a suspected thief, who as it turns out, was breaking curfew after being placed on probation for other crimes.

The incident occurred on Feb. 20, 2016.

As a result, believe it or not, the Crown approved a charge of dangerous driving causing bodily harm — meaning Buchanan faced a potential 10 years in jail. After a three-day preliminary inquiry in June, Provincial Court Judge Justine Saunders on Aug. 22 refused to commit Buchanan to trial and slammed the Crown in her decision.

The prosecution, she said, “failed to call any evidence let alone some evidence which supports the Crown’s theory that Constable Buchanan was operating his motor vehicle as charged.”

Buchanan’s Vancouver lawyer Ravi Hira could not have agreed more.

“He should never have been charged,” Hira fumed incredulously after the release of Saunders’ decision.

Imagine this: It was a twominute and 15-second chase, in a small town, late at night, with dry, well-lit roads, little or no vehicle or pedestrian traffic, and pursuit speeds topping out at just over 50km/ h.

Front and rear cameras on the unmarked RCMP Tahoe interceptor captured the “chase,” which began in Duncan after the highway patrol officer left the local Tim Hortons (of course!) and spotted the moped cruising through a stop sign and heading the wrong way down a street.

Buchanan got close enough to see the moped had no licence plate and turned on his vehicle’s emergency lights and siren. The moped didn’t stop. Judge Saunders said the moped went “into a blind corner and entered the opposite merge lane the wrong way at speed and dodged around a concrete median followed by the police vehicle.

“It appeared that Constable Buchanan was trying to pull him over.”

The moped then did a quick U-turn.

Saunders said that “household items such as a lamp fell from the moped,” and a balaclava mask was found later, too.

The fugitive turned into a parking lot and the moped hit an abutment.

The suspect fell off.

He got up, picked up the moped and was off again, cutting across the path of the Tahoe and onto a grassy area.

The bike turned left, struck a fire hydrant and the driver was tossed to the ground, breaking a leg.

The injured suspect, Bryce McKay, testified the Tahoe hit the rear of his moped three or four times before knocking it over.

The constable said his vehicle did not hit the moped.

“While he lay on the ground, (McKay) said the police officer got out of the police vehicle and ran up to him and kicked him in the face mask of his helmet, pulled the helmet off and started hitting him in the face, and then pulled his goggles off and punched him in the nose about six to eight times,” Saunders recounted, noting even Crown prosecutors considered that incredible.

“His evidence in chief is not consistent with the video in all material respects.”

The judge added McKay was also “vague” about his “lengthy” criminal record until told it was documented and the court was aware he was on probation and breaking curfew that night.

McKay is still awaiting trial on charges of possession of stolen property — the moped with its ignition punched out — evading police and dangerous driving.

Hira shook his head at the money and resources squandered.

“This was a case where the IIO spent many days investigating. The disclosure was voluminous, they submitted it to Crown counsel, and a ( junior lawyer) who recently joined the Crown, I’m told, approved the charges,” the respected litigator explained.

“We spent three days, a number of police officers lined up on overtime, and through two days there were two members of the IIO watching … Do the math in dollars and cents and do the effect on morale.

“This police officer had an unblemished record and was described in the evidence as a consummate professional.

“What are we doing? The IIO’s fixation on the person affected, rather than all the evidence, creates tunnel vision.”

The IIO referred inquiries to the B.C. Prosecution Service.

The prosecution service said it was “carefully reviewing the court’s decision to determine our next steps in relation to this matter.”

This police officer had an unblemished record and was described in the evidence as a consummate professional. What are we doing?