Officer with the Central Saanich, B.C., police charged with driving offence

A Central Saanich police vehicle is seen in Central Saanich, a district municipality in Greater Victoria, B.C., on Dec. 20, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

VICTORIA — The BC Prosecution Service says two police officers on Vancouver Island have been charged with driving without due care and attention in separate incidents.

The charge against Cpl. Phillip DiBattista with the Central Saanich Police Service is in relation to a crash with a cyclist on May 21, 2024.

The Independent Investigations Office said in a news release issued in March that a man on his bicycle was going in the same direction as the officer when they were involved in a crash.

The office said that while it was later determined the man's injuries didn't meet the threshold for serious harm, the director of police services ordered it to continue with the investigation.

The prosecution service, meanwhile, says RCMP Staff Sgt. Steven Perret has been charged in an incident in Ladysmith on June 1 last year, although a news release does not provide details about what exactly happened.

DiBattista's first court appearance on the charge is scheduled for June 11 at the Victoria Law Courts, while Perret's first appearance is scheduled for June 10 at Nanaimo Law Courts.

The service says Perret was a member of the Vancouver Island District RCMP at the time of his alleged offence, but he now serves the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.

The Canadian Press