Civilian-led police watchdog clears 2 RCMP officers who shot, killed a man in Quesnel, B.C., in 2021

British Columbia's Independent Investigations Office (IIO) has cleared two RCMP officers in Quesnel, about 120 kilometres south of Prince George, who shot and killed a man inside his vehicle on Aug. 31, 2021.

In a written release after the shooting, B.C. RCMP said officers conducted a check on a vehicle in a downtown parking lot on the 400 block of Carson Ave., at 3:30 a.m. PT and found a man sleeping inside.

The initial statement said the man reportedly reached for a firearm and shots were fired.

Whenever someone is seriously injured or killed during an interaction with police, the IIO mounts a separate investigation into what happened.

For its six-page report on the incident, released on Feb. 10, the IIO spoke to three civilian witnesses, two paramedics and five witness officers, listened to police radio dispatches and audio recordings of police radio transmissions, and watched CCTV footage from nearby properties.

Investigators also did a forensic examination of the scene, searched the victim's vehicle and studied medical evidence, including a post-mortem examination report.

Victim was known to police

According to the report, a Jeep Cherokee pulled into a parking lot off Carson Avenue and stopped at 1:41 a.m.

At 3:17 a.m., a police officer pulled over behind the vehicle and called for backup, because he knew the vehicle had failed to stop for police about two days before.

Two marked police vehicles, one unmarked police vehicle, and four officers initially responded to the scene, but only two of the officers fired the shots that killed the victim.

Witness officers, who were on scene but did not shoot, told the IIO that when they approached the Jeep, the man inside appeared to be sleeping and had a shotgun next to him on the passenger-side floor.

"The officers recognized [the victim] as a local drug trafficker, known to carry weapons," reads the report.

"[He] had a significant criminal record involving firearms and drugs offences and was currently subject to a weapons prohibition and an outstanding arrest warrant."

Victim likely fired first

The report says all four officers drew their pistols and stepped behind police vehicles. Two of the officers grabbed body armour and armed themselves with carbine rifles, before yelling at the man to come out of the vehicle, show his hands and not reach for his weapon.

A fifth officer arrived just before 3:26 a.m. and told the IIO he heard one of the officers say "something to the effect" that the man in the Jeep was loading a firearm.

Another officer said he saw the victim leaning toward the passenger side and believed he was reaching for the shotgun.

A civilian witness passing by on his bike said he saw police surrounding the Jeep with their weapons drawn and was about three blocks away when he heard a "flurry" of gunshots.

The IIO report says the victim's shotgun was fired once, upwards through the sunroof of the Jeep. Of the two officers who fired their carbine rifles, one shot only twice, while the second fired between 26 and 29 shots.

"The autopsy report showed that [the victim] died from a total of 11 bullet wounds. All wounds were directionally from back to front, with none having been fired at close range," said the IIO.

Mounties had 'reasonable grounds' for lethal force: IIO

In its conclusion, the report says the officers were acting in lawful execution of their duty by investigating a suspicious vehicle and attempting to arrest a man they recognized, pursuant to warrants and a criminal history.

The report says evidence of a fired shell in the chamber of the shotgun, the badly damaged sunroof and statements from officers show the victim's weapon was likely fired before he was shot by police.

While the IIO found the Mounties had "reasonable grounds" to use lethal force, it questioned why one officer fired only two shots and repositioned, while the second fired over 26 rounds toward the victim.

"While [the second officer's] actions may not have been perfect, they were not unreasonable and do not rise to the level of criminality," reads the conclusion, written by the IIO's Chief Civilian Director, Ron MacDonald.

MacDonald says any concerns about the officer's performance and tactics will be left for consideration by the RCMP.