The father of a man shot by Duncan RCMP says his son is in stable but critical condition at a Victoria hospital.
In a Facebook post, Michael Cochrane said his 31-year-old son, Davin, of Ladysmith, sustained massive trauma to the left rear quarter of his brain when he was shot in the head during a police chase around 9:30 p.m Tuesday. Davin Cochrane was driving a track loader skid-steer along residential streets and had refused to stop for police.
Surgeons operated on Davin Cochrane early Wednesday and he is now in an induced coma, his father wrote.
“He will god willing be kept in this state for a couple days or weeks until they feel he can [be] awoken for further assessment.”
Michael Cochrane said he will update his posts as often as he can and asked for prayers of strength and thoughts of love and healing.
“I am so grateful for the love and support my family has received,” he wrote.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Michael Cochrane pay for his expenses in Victoria. Cochrane drove from Grande Prairie, Alta., on Wednesday to be at his son’s side.
The fundraising page says Davin Cochrane, 31, is a fiance and the father of a newborn baby girl. He had been in a car accident on Tuesday and had fractured his knee. He left the hospital without waiting for surgery.
“Davin has a history of mental illness and past substance abuse but had been clean and doing very well for the past three years,” the post says.
The hospital did not contact his family or the police to tell them he had left the hospital, the post says.
The RCMP said in a statement that North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP received a report of a man who appeared impaired driving a track loader skid-steer down a residential street. The officers tried to get the driver to stop, but there were collisions between the loader and police vehicles.
“During the interaction that followed, one officer discharged their weapon striking the driver. Emergency Health Services were called and the man was transported to hospital with serious injuries,” the RCMP said.
Videos posted on social media show RCMP vehicles, lights flashing, sirens blaring, trying to stop the loader, which weaves around parked cars and goes onto sidewalks. Gunshots can be heard in the videos.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. is investigating the shooting. The watchdog investigates all police-involved shootings and incidents of serious harm.
ldickson@timescolonist.com
