By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Nanaimo Mountie acted in self-defense in fatal 2016 shooting: IIO

Jan 1, 2018 | 9:18 PM

NANAIMO — A Nanaimo RCMP officer acted in self-defense and did not commit a crime when he shot and killed a man carrying a knife, the province’s police watchdog says.

The Independent Investigations Office of BC issued its report on the June 14, 2016 shooting which left 49-year-old Craig Andrew Ford dead. It found no evidence the officer committed an offence and no charges will be considered.

The IIO is mandated to conduct investigations into police-related incidents of death or serious harm in order to determine whether an officer may have committed an offence.

The report said three officers responded to a call of a man walking outside a restaurant carrying a knife in the Norwell Dr. area. The caller said the man did not appear to be threatening anyone.

A female officer first encountered Ford on Country Club Dr., behind St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. He was “walking purposefully” and came within four or five feet of the officer, refusing commands to drop the knife, the report said.

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“This is only going to end if I die or you die,” Ford told the officer.

At that point another officer arrived and Ford began walking towards him with the knife pointed.

The report said as Ford got to the front of the officer’s car, the officer shot Ford twice.

The officer who shot Ford declined to provide a statement or his notes, the IIO report noted. However, it’s not mandatory for Mounties under investigation to provide information.

“(The officer) had to act quickly to protect himself, and had little time to weigh his options. It was reasonable for him to shoot in defense.”

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