Watchdog recommends charges against Vancouver police officer after car hit pedestrian

B.C.'s police watchdog is recommending charges against a Vancouver police officer whose vehicle hit a pedestrian in the Downtown Eastside on May 21, 2024.

The Independent Investigations Office said in a Monday statement that a VPD officer's vehicle hit a man who was walking on East Hastings Street near Dunlevy Avenue just after 12:30 a.m. PT that day.

The man was taken to hospital, where he was found to have suffered serious injuries.

The agency's chief civilian director says there are reasonable grounds to believe that the officer — who was not named in the statement — may have committed driving offences in the crash.

A report to consider charges has been forwarded to the B.C. Prosecution Service.

"In order to approve any charges, the [B.C.] Prosecution Service must be satisfied that there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by the IIO, and that prosecution be required in the public interest," the IIO statement reads.

The civilian-led agency investigates all incidents involving police that result in death or serious harm, regardless of whether or not there are allegations of wrongdoing.

CBC News has contacted the Vancouver Police Department.

The May 2024 pedestrian crash came less than three weeks after another VPD officer was fined $2,000 for a crash in the Downtown Eastside in September 2022 that left a man with life-altering injuries.

Hastings Street has long been one of B.C.'s most dangerous areas for pedestrians, and a Vancouver city official recently told CBC News the city would look at additional traffic markings along the arterial stretch.