BREAKING: Castlegar cop to face manslaughter charges in connection to shooting
By Castlegar Source
The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) announced today that a charge of manslaughter using a firearm has been approved against a member of the West Kootenay Traffic Unit of the RCMP in relation to a shooting which occurred during an attempted traffic stop near Castlegar on January 29, 2015.
(For details, see https://castlegarsource.com/news/coroner-releases-name-deceased-officer-involved-fatal-shooting-35940#.WsP0vn8h21s )
An Information charging Const. Jason Tait with these offences was sworn April 3, 2018 under Castlegar Provincial Court file number 25830-1.
Const. Tait’s first appearance on these charges will be in Castlegar Provincial Court on April 30, 2018.
The case was investigated by the Independent Investigation Office (IIO) which subsequently submitted a Report to Crown Counsel (RCC).
The charges were approved following a complete review of the available evidence by senior Crown Counsel.
The investigation and charge assessment process were protracted due, in part, to the complexities of the evidentiary issues in the case and the requirement for further investigation and analysis.
The Charge Assessment Guidelines that are applied by the BCPSin reviewing all RCCs are established in Branch policy and are available at: http://www.gov.bc.ca/charge-assessment-guidelines
As the matter is now before the court the BC Prosecution Service is unable to comment onthe charges or the charge assessment process.
