RCMP officer won’t be charged, disciplined after man and RCMP vehicle collide in Yellowknife in 2017

An RCMP patrol vehicle. (CKLB file photo.)

A Yellowknife RCMP officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing after the vehicle he was driving “came into contact” with a man known to police in downtown Yellowknife in 2017.

According to a news release from the Mounties, Northwest Territories RCMP have now received the results of an investigation and legal review of an incident that occurred in Yellowknife in July of 2017.

On July 10 of that year, a 35-year-old individual collided with a police vehicle following an interaction with RCMP.

The incident occurred on 48th Street in downtown Yellowknife.

The 35-year-old individual was seriously injured and received hospital treatment.

As an RCMP member and vehicle were involved in the incident, the Northwest Territories RCMP requested assistance from an external agency for investigative oversight.

NT RCMP Major Crimes Unit immediately began an internal investigation which was reviewed by Medicine Hat Police Services.

That force told CKLB that their report was forwarded to RCMP back in November of 2017.

RCMP have never said why it took more than two years to complete the investigation.

The investigation was later sent to Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) for an independent legal review.

After careful review, PPSC recommends no further actions towards the police is merited, RCMP state.

NT RCMP thanks Medicine Hat Police Services and Public Prosecution Service of Canada for their services in reviewing the investigation.

NT RCMP have been advised civil litigation has been brought forward by the party involved, as such, they say they are not able to comment further.

James Picard from his Facebook page

Police have not named the man involved but CKLB knows that the man is Yellowknife resident James Picard.

Police have never really explained the circumstances that led to Picard and the vehicle coming into contact.

We are endevouring to track him down for a reaction.

 

About the Author

John McFadden
John has been in the broadcast journalism industry since the 1980s. He has been a reporter in Yellowknife since 2012 and joined CKLB in January of 2018. John covers the crime and court beat as well as reporting on other areas including politics, business, entertainment and sports. He won seven national community newspaper awards while he was a journalist with Northern News Services Limited (NNSL). John worked in Ontario before coming North including stints as a TV sportscaster in Peterborough and senior news writer for CBC and CTV in downtown Toronto.