7-day suspension for Victoria officer who killed woman with anti-riot weapon

A Victoria police sergeant has been handed a seven-day suspension without pay for killing a woman by firing plastic bullets into a smoke-filled room.

In May, former judge Wally Oppal determined Sgt. Ron Kirkwood abused his authority during a call on Christmas Day 2019. He fired an anti-riot weapon into a smoky room, killing 43-year-old Lisa Rauch.

“He’s a good police officer who had a bad moment, which unfortunately led to catastrophic consequences,” Oppal said.

Oppal delivered the disciplinary decision on Thursday following a public hearing through the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC).

“I’m satisfied that was the right thing to do,” said Audrey Rauch, Lisa Rauch’s mother.

Rauch was hit in the head by at least one plastic projectile after she lit a fire in a supportive housing unit in downtown Victoria. During the public hearing, Kirkwood said he thought he was aiming the anti-riot weapon at Rauch’s abdomen.

Oppal said he believes Kirkwood did not mean to kill Rauch, but it was reckless to fire without a clear sightline. He said it was a “serious, but not malicious” error in judgement made during a challenging call.

“(Kirkwood) feels terrible for the outcome,” Victoria Police Department Chief Del Manak said.

“There are absolutely no winners in any of this, but are there some lessons to be learned? Yes, there are.”

Recommendations are ‘extremely reasonable’: Manak

Oppal made three recommendations to VicPD, including equipping front-line officers with body-worn cameras — something Rauch’s family advocated for.

In 2022, the municipal councils for Victoria and Esquimalt denied a $150,000 budget request for a body-worn camera pilot project, Manak said.

“The body-worn camera recommendation is a no-brainer,” Manak said. “We’ll put that back in our budget. I really believe in having the extra level of transparency and accountability.”

Oppal’s other recommendations are also “extremely reasonable and extremely fair,” Manak said.

Oppal wants the department to develop a policy to ensure sensitive communications with the family members of people killed by police.

Rauch’s family said they’ve encountered misinformation and delays during several oversight investigations over the past five-and-a-half years.

“We waited for 10 months to find out that they shot her in the back of the head while she was sitting on a couch with her back to them. That’s wrong,” Audrey said.

VicPD’s new policy must also consider sensitivity toward officers involved in incidents of death or serious injury, Oppal said, noting Kirkwood learned of Rauch’s death through a text.

“That’s just not right. We need to be better in that,” Manak said.

Oppal’s final recommendation asks VicPD to encourage B.C.’s Public Safety Ministry to provide legislative guidance around the notes of officers who may be subject to criminal investigations.

The issue was raised during the public hearing, as Kirkwood was advised not to take notes until contacting a lawyer, due to the risk of self-incrimination. While that was in line with department policy at the time, the policy has since been changed to require note taking.

Rauch’s family had also hoped for a recommendation restricting the use of anti-riot weapons.

“It’s made for riot control and not to shoot somebody from 15 feet (away),” Audrey said.

‘Torment for everyone involved’

Kirkwood has been off work due to mental distress, but Manak believes he’ll return.

“I look forward to that day, but I’m not going to put any pressure on him. I think there’s a lot of things he has to work through,” Manak said.

The seven-day suspension follows three previous oversight investigations, which did not find any wrongdoing.

“Five-and-a-half years has been a punishment for us as well as for Kirkwood and his family,” Audrey said. “I hope it has a deterrent effect going forward.”

Victoria Police Union President Angela Van Eerd said the case underscores the need to reform B.C.’s police oversight process.

“This outcome, reached only after prolonged and redundant scrutiny, has inflicted immeasurable mental, emotional, and professional harm on Sgt. Kirkwood and his family,” Van Eerd said in a statement.

“This drawn-out process, marked by bureaucratic delay and procedural repetition, represents a failure to meet even the most basic standards of fairness and decency.”

Van Eerd also highlighted how Rauch’s family has suffered not only from grief, but from the delay in receiving clarity and finality.

“This was not justice. This was torment for everyone involved,” she said.

A coroner’s inquest is expected to come next.

Rauch’s family is remembering her as a talented pianist with a great sense of humour.

“She was interested in sports, loved friends, but mental illness got her and put her in the situation she was in,” her father, Ron Rauch, said in May.