A Kamloops RCMP officer who was filmed drawing his gun on a woman and arresting her for what he said was obstruction of justice has been charged with assault and mischief in connection with the incident.
The BC Prosecution Service approved the charges against Const. David Tucker on Wednesday (July 24).
Close to a year earlier, on July 31, 2023, Tucker was captured on video confronting a woman who he claimed had obstructed him from arresting another man. That man is seen handcuffed on the ground in the Kamloops City Hall parking lot.
In the video, Tucker tells the woman she is under arrest and then draws his Taser on both her and her dog when she doesn't immediately comply. He briefly reholsters his Taser to get his handcuffs but then pulls out his gun instead after the woman's dog jumps up and barks at him.
Tucker then drops the woman to the ground, accidentally flinging his handcuffs to the side in the process. He drags the woman several feet with her hands behind her back to retrieve the cuffs and places them on her wrists.
Kamloops RCMP released a statement on Aug. 4, 2023 saying that Tucker arrested the man around 6:30 p.m. after observing him yelling and swearing at the woman. RCMP said Tucker saw a third woman with the two who appeared badly injured and that he was concerned it may be connected to a report of a woman being shot earlier in the evening.
The department said the man passed off a bag to the first woman before he was arrested and that Tucker thought it may contain evidence of some criminal offence. That was why he confronted the woman, according to Kamloops RCMP.
The department also claimed Tucker had to draw his Taser and firearm because the woman's dog was acting aggressively.
"Our officers face countless risks every day and make split-second decisions, often based on extremely limited information," Supt. Jeff Pelley said in a statement at the time.
Both the man and the woman were later released without charges.
Tucker himself now faces two and is set to make his first appearance in Kamloops Provincial Court on Aug. 26.
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