Lunden Taylor Howard, the man convicted of ramming his SUV into a parked police vehicle in Duncan on May 12, 2023, injuring an RCMP officer, has avoided jail time.
In the Duncan courthouse on June 9, Howard was handed a four-month conditional sentence by Judge Roger Cutler for dangerous driving causing bodily harm, to be served in the community.
In May, 2024, Howard also pleaded guilty to a charge of assault by choking in relation to an incident with his fiancé in Esquimalt in the hours before the collision in the RCMP parking lot.
He had faced up to 14 years in prison for the choking incident, but the court handed him a 23-month sentence on June 9, also to be served in the community.
The sentences will be served concurrently, with 18 months of probation to follow.
The court also imposed a 10-year firearms prohibition on Howard, as well as a DNA order, and a three-year driving prohibition.
The remaining counts against Howard in relation to his hitting the police vehicle, which were aggravated assault of a peace officer and assault of a peace officer with a weapon, were stayed by the Crown.
A spokesperson with the BC Prosecution Service said Howard received no jail time because the court determined that the safety of the community was not threatened with him serving his sentence outside of jail.
However, if he breaks any of the conditions of his sentence, he could find himself behind bars.
The RCMP reported at the time that at approximately 6:30 a.m. on May 12, 2023, RCMP Sgt. Kiel Pharis was in the parking lot of the headquarters of the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment preparing his vehicle for patrol duties, when a civilian vehicle entered the lot and struck the police vehicle, injuring the officer.
Howard, 36, was subsequently shot by a second RCMP officer.
He was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Independent Investigations Office of BC, which investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing, determined Howard did not sustain serious harm as defined by the Police Act, and concluded its investigation without further comment.
