Man shot by police in Salmon Arm files lawsuit

Jan 2, 2020 | 1:21 PM

A man shot in the head by a Salmon Arm RCMP officer has filed a lawsuit against three members of the RCMP and the Attorney General of Canada.

The incident occurred on January 30, 2017. According to the statement of claim, the plaintiff, Kaymen Wesley Winter was observed on camera breaking into the coin box of a spray car wash booth at Xcalibur Car Wash in Salmon Arm.

RCMP were notified and three officers responded to the report.

The incident progressed and 14 shots were fired by one of the constables from his carbine rifle, the claim says.

The claim alleges the shooting left the plaintiff with serious life-threatening injuries including a head injury as a result of being shot in the head, bone and metal fragments penetrating five cm into the brain and metal fragments in the forehead. The claim alleges the plaintiff also lost consciousness and sustained injuries to the face and eyes.

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The notice of civil claim alleges an excessive use of force was used. It also alleges failures by the RCMP to properly train the defendants and they “failed to properly coordinate the response to the complainant which contributed in the circumstances that resulted in the plaintiff’s injuries.”

The Independent Investigations Office launched an investigation into the officer-involved shooting and found no wrong doing.

In a decision filed on Feb. 29, 2018, the IIO noted the officers felt there was a threat the plaintiff would run over another officer with his truck.

“[The officer] had to make a split second decision about what, in his mind, was needed to protect [another officer] from being run over and possibly killed. In that situation, the law did not require Officer 1 to first carefully calculate how much force was needed. If he took that time, Officer 3 may have been killed,” the IIO decision stated.

The plaintiff is seeking relief for medical costs including; prescription expenses, doctor’s fees, paramedical practitioner fees, and transportation expenses. He is also seeking general, punitive, and constitutional damages.

A consent order was filed Dec. 4 at the Kamloops registry of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

by Tiffany Goodwein

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