RCMP officer who shot Vancouver Island man twice in head faces possible gun charges

Two years after a B.C. man was shot twice in the head, the province’s police watchdog says the officer could face criminal charges.

The Independent Investigations Office, B.C.’s police watchdog, has sent a file to the Crown for consideration of charges against an RCMP officer who shot a man twice in the head on Vancouver Island two years ago.

It happened near Evans Park in Duncan on the evening of March 28, 2023.

According to the IIO, bystanders called Mounties to report a man operating a skid-steer erratically on city streets just after 9 p.m.

In a news release at the time, the IIO said the skid-steer collided with police vehicles in the park before police shot the man.

Davin Cochrane, 31 at the time, sustained serious injuries and went to hospital in critical condition.

His father spoke to CTV News on Tuesday and said an investigator with the IIO told him they would be recommending charges following a two-year investigation into what happened and whether the use of force was justified.

“She informed me that less than five per cent of the time, when these cases are presented to them, that there is wrongful doing on behalf of the RCMP,” Michael Cochrane said of his conversation with the investigator. “But in this case, there is reasonable justification to move forward with charges against the RCMP.”

The IIO announced the conclusion of its investigation in a news release Wednesday morning.

It said Chief Civilian Director Jessica Berglund “reviewed the evidence and determined that reasonable grounds exist to believe that one officer may have committed an offence in relation to the use of a firearm.”

It did not say what possible charges are being considered.

The file is now in the hands of the B.C. Prosecution Service which must decide if charges will be approved.

One threshold in that decision will be whether or not the Crown believes there is a “substantial likelihood of conviction,” and that prosecution would be required in the public interest.

“There is a sense of relief today, to know that it’s being looked at in a real fashion,” Michael Cochrane said.

He told CTV News his son still carries physical and emotional trauma from the shooting.

“He still struggles from lifelong injuries. He’s had a lot of health issues related to this because of the substantial wounds that he suffered,” he said.

According to his father, Davin Cochrane still has bullet fragments in his brain – and some fragments have migrated to organs elsewhere in his body.

He said his son has had learn to walk again and continues to receive physical therapy on a daily basis at a facility in Vancouver.

Davin Cochrane also receives regular counselling to help him with the trauma that he still experiences as a result of the shooting.

“His life will never be the same. And he’s doing his best to get ahead of that and be grateful for every moment,” Michael Cochrane said.

Davin Cochrane also has a civil lawsuit pending against two RCMP officers, the national force and B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety and the Solicitor General.

The BC RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the duty status of the officers involved in the shooting.