After B.C. woman’s killing, watchdog investigating RCMP handling of domestic violence allegations

An investigation has been launched into how the RCMP responded to domestic violence reports before a woman was allegedly killed by her husband.

A police watchdog is investigating whether the “action or inaction” of RCMP officers contributed to the death of a B.C. woman who was allegedly murdered by her husband this month.

Pamela Jarvis, a 45-year-old mother of six children, was found critically injured in her Merritt home on Dec. 16, and later died in hospital.

Her husband, Christopher Bernard Jarvis, was charged with second-degree murder the following day.

On Friday, the Independent Investigations Office said it has begun investigating the Merritt RCMP’s handling of “alleged intimate partner violence” before Jarvis was killed.

“The RCMP has provided information that the investigation occurred over a period of time prior to the death, and they report that the last contact occurred several days before her murder,” the IIO said in a news release.

In a letter to the watchdog last weekend, Battered Women’s Support Services pushed for an investigation into Merritt RCMP’s “decision-making” in the case, including officers’ “risk assessment, safety planning and protective actions following a reported intimate partner violence incident.”

“Where police conduct may have increased, failed to mitigate, or inadequately addressed foreseeable risk, independent review is essential to public safety and accountability,” executive director Angela Marie MacDougall wrote in the letter.

The IIO asked anyone with information relevant to its investigation to contact the watchdog’s toll-free line at 1-855-446-8477 or fill out the contact form on its website.