Victoria police officer to get 7-day suspension after death of woman
Lisa Rauch, 43, died after VicPD Sgt. Ron Kirkwood shot three plastic bullets at her in 2019
Victoria police Sgt. Ron Kirkwood will be suspended for seven days without pay for using an anti-riot weapon called an ARWEN to shoot plastic projectiles at Lisa Rauch.
That decision came from retired judge Wally Oppal, who held a public hearing into the incident after it was ordered by the B.C. police complaint commissioner.
Rauch, 43, died a few days after she was shot on Christmas Day 2019.
It happened in a supportive housing complex in downtown Victoria, B.C., where Rauch had been visiting a friend.
Rauch ended up in her friend's room, alone, in what witnesses described as a drug-induced psychosis. She had threatened those who entered with a knife, and had started a small fire.
Police and firefighters breached the door of the room, and after water was sprayed at the fire, Kirkwood shot three rounds of the ARWEN into the smokey room — thinking he was aiming at her abdomen.
Instead, he hit her in the head.
Though previous investigations cleared Kirkwood of any wrongdoing, Oppal found he had committed abuse of authority by using unnecessary force, and acted recklessly.
Still, he found it was an isolated incident for a police officer who is well-respected by his colleagues.
Oppal called it "serious but not malicious, an error in judgment committed in the context of a dynamic and challenging call."
The retired judge also pointed out that Kirkwood had shown remorse, and has been off work on medical leave, dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Kirkwood also received support from supervisors and colleagues, including Victoria Police Department (VicPD) Chief Const. Del Manak who called him "a leader within VicPD [who's] had an exemplary track record and service record."
Manak said he's confident Kirkwood will return to work and continue to lead and mentor younger officers.
Kirkwood has received medals in the past, including for being on the scene of the Saanich bank shooting in 2022, where six of his colleagues were shot.
Audrey Rauch, Lisa's mother, said she trusted Oppal's decision would serve as a deterrent, saying he had done an "admiral job" in the hearing.
She said the five and half years it took to get to this stage were difficult, describing them as "a punishment for us as well as Kirkwood and his family."
While she is disappointed Oppal's recommendations didn't include a police ban on ARWENs, she hopes the other recommendations bring change.
3 recommendations
Oppal made three recommendations based on what he heard during the hearing: that Victoria police have their on-duty officers wear body cameras, that the police advocate to the province to create legislation surrounding notes taken and reports made by officers under investigation, and that they review how they communicate with both police and victims' families.
Manak called the body-camera suggestion a "no brainer," saying he has tried to institute them in the past but couldn't get funding from Victoria and Esquimalt councils, which fund VicPD.
He called it good timing that he is currently working on the budget for 2026, which will eventually be presented to councils.
He said he and his leadership team would read Oppal's report and consider the other recommendations.
The note-taking recommendation arises from the fact that Kirkwood took no notes following the incident, making it difficult to investigate — he was advised not to because he would be investigated by the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia (IIOBC).
Oppal said VicPD has since updated its policy so that notes are required, but in a way that still protects officers. He would like there to be a similar province-wide policy.
When it comes to communication, Rauch's family reported several instances of being misinformed — or not informed at all — about what had happened and how seriously injured their daughter was.
Kirkwood reported being informed of Rauch's death by text message.
Oppal recommended Manak and the police board review how communication happened after Rauch's death and develop a policy leading to "reliable, timely, accurate, and sensitive communications" and support for the parties involved when civilians are seriously harmed by police and the IIOBC steps in.