1 day ago
Swift News
A Kelowna-based RCMP officer has been charged with assault in connection to an incident that happened on Aug. 18, 2023.
The B.C. Prosecution Service says it approved the charges against Const. Russell Reeder, 50, in Kelowna provincial court on Sept. 4.
"The charges were approved by an experienced Crown Counsel who has no connection with the accused," the service said in a release.
B.C. RCMP media relations officer Staff Sgt. Kris Clark said Reeder has been placed on supported administrative leave and that his "duty status is subject to continuous review and assessment."
Additionally, he said a code of conduct investigation is ongoing.
Neither RCMP nor the B.C. Prosecution Service would provide any further details on what is alleged to have happened in the incident.
B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office, which investigates whenever police-related incidents result in death or serious harm, has no record of the incident on its site.
However, the office noted in an email to CBC News that not every instance of alleged assault would necessarily constitute "serious harm," defined in the Police Act as "injury that may result in death, may cause serious disfigurement or may cause substantial loss or impairment of mobility of the body as a whole or of the function of any limb or organ."
