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The province’s police watchdog says an officer may have committed driving-related offences when an unmarked police vehicle collided with a civilian vehicle in Abbotsford, B.C., in February 2025.
At the time of the incident on Feb. 20, the Abbotsford Police Department said a a police vehicle carrying two officers and a civilian vehicle with one occupant collided around 4 p.m. PT near the intersection of King and Gladwin roads.
The civilian driver was taken to hospital by air ambulance with serious injuries, while the two officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospital by ground ambulance.
The police force said at the time that impairment was being considered as a factor in the collision.
The IIO says police were engaged in an unrelated investigation when the collision occurred. (Shane MacKichan)
The matter was reported to the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of B.C., a civilian-led oversight body that investigates all police-involved incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is an allegation of wrongdoing.
At the time of the collision, the IIO said the officers had been working on an unrelated investigation when the crash occurred.
On Friday, the IIO said a review of the evidence determined that reasonable grounds exist to believe that an officer may have committed driving-related offences.
The investigations office has forwarded a report to the B.C. Prosecution Service (BCPS) for consideration of charges under the Motor Vehicle Act.
It’s now up to the prosecution service to review the recommended charges, which the IIO does not list, and approve them or not.
BCPS uses a two-part formula to make decisions, assessing whether there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered, and whether pursuing prosecution is in the public interest.