Charges have been approved after a man rammed a police cruiser, injuring a North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP officer early Friday morning, the B.C. Prosecution Service said Monday.
Lunden Howard has been charged with assaulting a police officer with a weapon in connection with the May 12 crash that took place in the parking lot of the RCMP detachment on Canada Avenue in Duncan.
Howard is also facing charges of assault by choking and breach of a peace bond earlier that morning in Esquimalt. No date has been set for Howard’s first appearance in court.
The Independent Investigations Office is also investigating the incident, which involved police shooting the man who drove his SUV into the police cruiser, injuring the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP officer.
Around 6:30 a.m. Friday, an officer was checking the equipment on his police cruiser in the detachment’s parking lot when a man driving a black SUV rammed the police vehicle from behind, sending it into a ditch.
After the ramming, a witness video shows a person getting out of the driver’s seat of a black SUV. The person appears to get something from the back seat of the SUV, then turns towards an officer, who is pointing his gun at the person. The officer shoots the person, who falls to the ground.
Police said they do not know why the SUV was driven into the police car. Both vehicles sustained significant damage.
On Monday, the RCMP confirmed that the injured officer had been released from hospital and is continuing to recover.
Police did not release any information on the driver’s condition. However, his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
The incident is also being investigated by North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP, said Cpl. Alex Bérubé, RCMP media relations officer for the Island District.
This is the second police-involved shooting in seven weeks in Duncan.
“Across Canada, this has been an exceptionally difficult year for policing with several officers killed in the line of duty,” Mike Farnworth, minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General said Monday in recognition of National Police Week.
“In our largest cities and smallest towns, in remote villages and Indigenous communities, we rely on police officers to prevent crime and violence, and protect people. Every day they selflessly and courageously uphold public safety, putting their lives at risk so the rest of us can live in peace and safety,” said Farnworth.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. investigates incidents where someone is seriously injured or killed while interacting with police, to determine if an officer committed an offence.
On March 28, a man was shot in the head twice when he was driving a track loader skid-steer along residential streets in Duncan and refused to stop for police. He is recovering in Victoria General Hospital.
ldickson@timescolonist.com
