‘Duty to protect lives’: RCMP forced to shoot suspect in West Kelowna incident

Warning: This article discusses gun violence, drug use, and self-harm and may be disturbing to some readers.

Additional information was released following a shooting in West Kelowna in October 2023 involving an RCMP officer and a man experiencing a mental health crisis.

The shooting occurred on Skyline Road in West Kelowna when a police officer fired his weapon, leaving bullet holes in the portable toilet where a man was hiding from police while evading arrest. After sustaining the gunshot wound, the man was arrested and taken to hospital.

After a nine-month investigation, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), a police watchdog agency, released the results of its investigation into the incident on June 14, clearing the RCMP officer who fired the shots of any wrongdoing. At the time of the IIO's announcement, few details of the incident were released because a criminal case related to the shooting and arrest was still before the courts.

On August 26, the full written decision of the IIO's Chief Civilian Director was made available to the public.

The report states that officers were called on October 18th about numerous gunshots and that a man was carrying what appeared to be a machine gun. The first caller reported hearing gunshots and seeing a man on the street pointing a gun at homes at 12:09 p.m.

The man had been staying with a friend in a nearby house and was suffering from psychosis while under the influence of drugs. He admitted to firing two shots into the ceiling of the house where he was staying, but could not explain to IIO investigators why. During the psychosis, the man believed he was in danger and that people were trying to kill him. He later told police that he had no intention of harming others.

The next call to police came at 12:21 p.m. from a motorist who was stopped at a red light when an armed man behind him began honking and yelling. The caller said the man also pointed a gun at him. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Emergency Response Team were dispatched to the calls.

Then the man crashed his vehicle into a fence sometime between 12:21 and 12:55

As firefighters approached his vehicle after the collision, the man reportedly pointed a gun at his head and told emergency responders he intended to harm himself.

The man left the scene of the accident on foot and police had to locate the man, who was walking in the neighborhood.

At 1:01 p.m. and again at 1:11 p.m., police received calls from witnesses reporting that a man with a gun was in their neighborhood.

The man then entered a nearby portable toilet with the intention of taking drugs, the IIO press release said.

At 1:23 p.m., police found the man and ordered him to put down the gun and leave the Potra Potty because he was under arrest. The man refused to comply and officers reported hearing a gun being repeatedly loaded. The man later told investigators he tried to fire the gun, but it jammed.

From inside the portable toilet, the man told police and emergency personnel that he intended to harm himself and anyone who came near him. Emergency vehicles and officers were stationed around the man, who was still inside the portable toilet in the residential area.

At 1:47 p.m., the man exited the portable restroom and was again ordered to drop his weapon. When he did not, an officer shot him in the thigh. As he fell to the ground, the man's weapon discharged a shot into the ground.

The man was subsequently taken to the hospital where he was treated for his gunshot wound and a fracture of his right hip. The man survived his injuries.

“Officers have a duty to protect lives. They cannot simply walk away from a situation in which [a man] was armed with a weapon and went into a residential area … They also could not allow [the man] shoot themselves,” the report says.

The IIO's chief civilian director ruled that the officer who fired the weapon had not committed a crime because the man posed a danger to the public.