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㽶ƵֱReasonable grounds㽶Ƶֱ to consider charges in fatal B.C. police shooting: watchdog

Jared Lowndes shot dead in July 2021 in the parking lot of a Campbell River Tim Hortons
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A memorial was set up for Jared Lowndes at the Campbell River Tim Hortons where the incident took place. Photo by Marc Kitteringham / Campbell River Mirror

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) is asking crown counsel to consider charges against three officers involved in the July 8, 2021 shooting of a Wet㽶Ƶֱsuwet㽶Ƶֱen man in Campbell River.

A decision is pending regarding a fourth officer involved in the incident.

Jared Lowndes, 38, was killed in a police-involved incident in the parking lot of the Willow Point Tim Hortons in Campbell River. During the incident, a police dog was also killed and the dog㽶Ƶֱs RCMP handler was injured.

According to a press release from the IIO, at about 5:30 a.m. on July 8, 2021, an officer attempted to check a parked vehicle, a blue Audi. The Audi drove away and there was contact between it and the police vehicle. The officer did not pursue at the time but told other RCMP members of the incident.

Later, at 9 a.m., the police located the vehicle again. Officers stopped the Audi in the Tim Hortons drive thru.

㽶ƵֱDuring the interaction that followed, shots were fired by police, and the man was subsequently pronounced deceased,㽶Ƶֱ the release says.

The IIO is not releasing further details of the interaction, saying it could 㽶Ƶֱprejudice a potential prosecution.㽶Ƶֱ

However, IIO Chief Civilian Director Ronald J. MacDonald determined that 㽶Ƶֱreasonable grounds exist to believe that three officers may have committed offences in relation to various uses of force.㽶Ƶֱ

The IIO is preparing a report to be submitted to BC Prosecution Service for consideration of charges in the coming months.

From there, the BC Prosecution Service can approve charges if they are 㽶Ƶֱsatisfied that there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by the IIO, and that prosecution be required in the public interest.㽶Ƶֱ

Lowndes㽶Ƶֱ family and the Pivot Legal Society held a press conference in Vancouver at 4 p.m. after being informed of the IIO㽶Ƶֱs decision by Chief Civilian Director Ronald MacDonald.

㽶ƵֱThis is the beginning of a fight that㽶Ƶֱs going to last a long time,㽶Ƶֱ said Laura Holland, Lowndes㽶Ƶֱ mother at the conference. 㽶ƵֱIt㽶Ƶֱs time to stop killing us. We are people too.㽶Ƶֱ

During the conference, Holland and supporters pledged to continue putting pressure on the crown in regards to this matter and future violence towards Indigenous, Black and other racialized groups in Canada.

㽶ƵֱIt is time for police officers to be held accountable for the unnecessary use of force that too often results in the death of Indigenous community members,㽶Ƶֱ said a release from Pivot. 㽶ƵֱIn the 16 months since Jared㽶Ƶֱs death, there have been 74 reported incidents of in-custody deaths in B.C. alone.㽶Ƶֱ

The , which comes out at the end of March each year, says 㽶ƵֱIndigenous Peoples are over-represented in IIO investigations,㽶Ƶֱ representing 28 per cent of people who self-identified their ethnicity, though Indigenous Peoples only represent six per cent of the province㽶Ƶֱs population.

㽶ƵֱWe will not stop making noise until this racist system is reversed,㽶Ƶֱ said Meenakshi Mannoe from the Pivot Legal Society. 㽶ƵֱThis IIO decision is not the same as Justice for Jared㽶Ƶֱ but this brings us one step closer to denouncing this racist system.㽶Ƶֱ

In 2021-2022, there were 12 cases referred to crown counsel for consideration of charges. That number has risen from six in 2019-2020, to eight the following year to 12 this year.

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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com

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Marc Kitteringham

About the Author: Marc Kitteringham

I joined Black press in early 2020, writing about the environment, housing, local government and more.
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