An off-duty police officer who struck and injured two jaywalking pedestrians on the Trans-Canada Highway early on April 10 should not face charges, according to a decision released on Aug. 15 by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.
On April 10 just before 6 a.m., the subject officer was driving north along the highway between James Street and Beverly Street to the North Cowichan/Duncan detachment. It was still dark out and traffic was light on the highway.
One of the affected individuals left the nearby Tim Hortons and crossed the highway to look for something he'd previously lost.
"[He] said that he had used drugs and could not recall if he had given any thought to whether any vehicle was coming prior to crossing the highway," said the report.
CCTV from a nearby business showed two dark shapes crossing the street from the east side of the highway. The subject officer stuck both men with his vehicle.
Evidence showed the driver told the responding police officer the pedestrians had "just come out of nowhere". Evidence also showed the driver was travelling at an appropriate speed.
According to the report, the witness officer "noted that this particular location was a 'black hole' due to the lack of street lighting, and an area that has been the site of collisions with pedestrians in the past. Both [pedestrians] were wearing dark clothing. There is a posted sign indicating that pedestrians should not cross the highway at the location."
The IIO's mandate is to investigate any incident that occurs in the province in which a person has died or suffered serious physical hard as a result of the actions or inactions of police.
"The aim is to provide assurance to the public that when the investigation is complete, they can trust the IIO's conclusions, because the investigation was conducted by an independent, unbiased, civilian-led agency," said the report.
While the pedestrians suffered multiple broken bones and other internal injuries, the officer has been cleared of committing a driving offence by striking the pedestrians and causing them serious harm.
"It was not reasonably foreseeable that two pedestrians would suddenly appear in the middle of the highway in the early hours of the morning. In addition to a driver not anticipating these pedestrians, the poor lighting and the APs' dark clothing made it exceptionally difficult to see them. The fact that the [driver's] brake lights were not apparent until after the collision provided an indicator that the [driver] did not seethe APs at all."
In its deliberations, the IIO reviewed evidence including but not limited to statements from both affected individuals, statements from six civilian witnesses and one witness officer, police dispatch, police records, medical records and CCTV in evaluating the case.
"There is nothing in the evidence collected that suggested the [driver] was driving in a way that would appear to be dangerous or without proper care and attention. The [driver] was driving as any other reasonable driver would. It is unfortunate that the collision occurred, and that the [pedestrians] were injured."
