Manitoba’s Independent Investigation Unit has concluded that a police pursuit that resulted in a traffic fatality determined the officer acted appropriately.
The incident occurred on the evening of October 9, 2015, when two Portage la Prairie RCMP officers were investigating a report of an assault and possible impaired driver.
According to police, they located a suspect van at the Petro Canada gas station in St. Claude, and then pulled in behind the vehicle.
Before officers exited their marked vehicle, the van and its four occupants drove from the lot eastbound onto PTH2 at a high speed, police said.
Police explained that they had to stop their pursuit within one minute, as the van was going an excessive speed, which approached 150 kilometers per hour.
As the van continued to speed eastbound, as it was passing a semi-trailer truck, police said it collided head-on with a westbound car driven by a Taylor Renwick, 20, who was killed on impact.
Due to the fatality, as well as serious injuries to occupants of the van, the IIU assumed responsibility for the investigation, as required by the Police Services Act.
After going through all the evidence from the incident, the IIU determined the officer driving the police vehicle was justified in beginning a pursuit, and that he acted carefully and prudently during the course of the brief pursuit and in his decision to abort the chase.
The driver of the van was subsequently charged with numerous offences, including criminal negligence, dangerous and impaired driving, and flight from a police officer.
BELOW: Location of fatal collision.
