Skateboard attack leaves B.C. man in coma, family angry at RCMP over investigation

I wonder if, when he wakes up from his induced coma, Michael Forry will wish no one had honked their horn at some jaywalking skateboarders.

That's if he remembers. Forry suffered a severe brain injury from being whacked on the back of the head and falling to the ground after a confrontation in Kamloops, B.C., last month.

It was an everyday street encounter that escalated stupidly into tragedy that's left Forry's family grief-stricken, frustrated and angry.

According to the RCMP's account in news reports, the 46-year-old mine worker was a passenger in an SUV when a group of teens walked in front of the truck.

The driver thought something hit the vehicle, so he pulled into a nearby convenience store parking lot. Forry stepped out to speak to the teens and that's when things turned ugly.

“I envision a group of kids crossing the road, the truck honks its horn and there was a notation from [the driver] who thought he heard an impact of something on the side of the truck,” Staff Sgt. Grant Learned told the Vancouver Province.

Another witness told police someone had swung something — maybe a skateboard — at the truck, Learned said.

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What started as a verbal dustup turned violent. Forry is alleged to have shoved a teenage girl. Then another member of the group hit him on the back of the head with the longboard he was carrying. Forry fell and hit his forehead on the pavement.

According to The Canadian Press, Forry did not regain consciousness.

His sister, Ann, told CP that doctors don't know if Forry, who worked at the Tumbler Ridge coal mine in northeastern B.C., will recover. Even if he does, he could face lasting brain damage.

“The swelling is so severe they had to take out the left part of his skull because of bleeding on the brain,” she told CP. “This has completely devastated our family. It has forever changed our lives and it is totally tragic for his daughter.”

Forry, who lives in the northern B.C. town of Mackenzie, is a single father of a 13-year-old girl and also supports his elderly disabled parents, the CP said.

What also angers Forry's family at this point is that the RCMP released the 15-year-old boy who allegedly struck him with the skateboard within hours of the March 24 incident. The teen was placed in the care of his guardian while the investigation proceeds, CP said. No charges have been laid.

Forry has been painted the aggressor in the incident, but Ann Forry doesn't think it justifies the attack.

“The fact is, my brother had his back turned when he was hit,” she told CP. “He was struck from behind. He was in a vulnerable position.”

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Learned told the Province the teen could be held if he was considered a flight risk or might commit another crime.

“We’re obligated under the Young Offenders Act to release a person unless there’s compelling reasons to warrant having that individual held,” he said.

Ann Forry also said the Mounties have not been in touch with the family since the incident, despite repeated calls.

“There’s been no contact from victim services, especially there being a child [Forry’s daughter] involved," she told CP.

“We are completely floored by this. … They seem to be more concerned with releasing the youth than the care of the victim’s family.”

Ann Forry said an investigator called the hospital requesting a statement from her brother, apparently unaware he was in a coma.

"They clearly don't understand the severity of what's happened," she said.

Learned said the investigation has been complicated by the fact police can't yet speak to Forry. He also said efforts should have been made to contact his family.