The West Vancouver police are defending their decision to release extremely little information about their investigation into the tasering of an 11-year-old boy in Prince George.
On Thursday, West Vancouver Chief Const. Peter Lepine announced that after reviewing the findings of his forces five-month probe of the incident, he had concluded Prince George officers had been acting within the law when they stunned the child last April. He did not release any further detail, however, leaving such questions as whether the boy was armed unanswered.
The gaps in the account touched off a flurry of questions from media and the public, according to the force. On Friday, Lepine put out a follow-up statement acknowledging this.
It's clear that there is tremendous public appetite to know more about this file, and that there was some disappointment at the limited information my team and I have released so far, he said. I am asking the public to understand the delicate position that my team and I are in with respect to releasing more detailed information.
The chief explained that while he supported the publics right to know, he had to balance that with the need to protect the child and the integrity of investigations by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP and B.C.s representative for children and youth that are still underway.
My team and I are currently consulting with other authorities and stakeholders to make sure we strike the right balance, said Lepine. I intend to post an update . . . as soon as those consultations are complete, which I hope will be within the next week.
The incident unfolded at about 5:30 p.m. April 7 when someone reported that a youth had allegedly wounded a 37-year-old man with a sharp weapon in a Prince George home. Mounties arrived a short time later to find the victim bleeding and the suspected attacker gone.
The officers eventually tracked the boy to a neighbouring house, where they coaxed him outside. When he emerged, he was tasered. It's not clear what took place between the time he stepped out of the home and the moment he was stunned.
The youth and the alleged stabbing victim were both taken to hospital.
As has become common practice in police incidents in recent years, the RCMP called in a municipal force in this case West Vancouver's to investigate, the idea being that officers from a separate organization would be less likely to be suspected of bias.
West Vancouver investigators flew to Prince George a few days after the incident to interview witnesses and gather other information. They interviewed the officers involved some time after that.
Lepine reviewed their final report and reached his conclusion based on the evidence they had gathered.
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