BC Prosecution Service to move forward with charges against Prince Rupert RCMP officer related to motor vehicle incident

Almost one year to the date of a police vehicle/pedestrian incident in the city's downtown core, the British Columbia Prosecution Service has announced that the have approved  of charges related to the striking of a pedestrian by a police vehicle driven by an on duty member in March of 2017.

In the information release of this morning, the provincial prosecution office advised the following.

A charge of driving without due care and attention, contrary to s. 144(1)(a) of the Motor Vehicle Act has been approved against Prince Rupert RCMP Cpl. Jeff Easingwood.

The charges relate to an incident that occurred on March 25, 2017, while Corporal Easingwood was on duty in Prince Rupert.

The charge was sworn in at the Prince Rupert Court House this morning, with the first court appearance for the RCMP Corporal set for April 25th of this year at Prince Rupert Court.

As the matter is now before the courts, no further information will be released at this time.

The full announcement from the Prosecution Office can be reviewed here.

A March  2017 police/pedestrian incident in downtown Prince Rupert has now been turned
over the BC Prosecution Service, with the first court date set for April 25
(photo from Facebook)

The  circumstances related to the 2017 incident found the pedestrian injured as a result of the collision with the police vehicle in the area of Second Avenue West and Eighth street.

As a result of he incident, the pedestrian was taken to Kitimat General Hospital for medical  treatment prior to release in the days following his transport to Kitimat.

The file at the time was turned over to the Independent Investigations Office, that investigative body released its report in January of this year, with the findings delivering a report of a consideration of charges for the Prosecution Service to review.

Today's announcement moves that review from the investigative to the prosecution phase.

The Prince Rupert detachment has not as of yet issued any statements related to the decision of the BC Prosecution Office.

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