Man with brain injury not charged

A man who ended up with a brain injury after being held in police cells here and who now requires full time care will not face any criminal charges.

Although RCMP officers wanted Robert Wright charged after he was arrested for impaired driving last year, a government lawyer concluded there was no substantial likelihood of conviction given the level of force used by RCMP officers against Wright and because of injuries he suffered.

Wright was arrested April 21, 2012 after Terrace RCMP officers responded to reports of a possible impaired driver.

While in police custody, Wright, then 47, was injured and after being taken to the local hospital three times during the night, was taken to the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster for intensive treatment.

Police subsequently recommended charges of impaired operation of a motor vehicle, refusing to provide a breath sample and obstructing a peace officer.

A provincial lawyer then looked at evidence from the roadside when Wright was first stopped in his vehicle, evidence from his subsequent arrival at the Terrace RCMP detachment and interaction with police while in custody and evidence of his mental and physical condition before and after he was taken to hospital for the injury to his head, said Neil MacKenzie who speaks for the provincial criminal justice branch.

Once all the evidence was considered, the provincial Crown Counsel lawyer determined there was no substantial likelihood of conviction, he said.

There was no evidence available of actual erratic driving by Wright, and the physical symptoms of impairment observed by police were not sufficient on their own to support a conviction for impaired operation of a motor vehicle, MacKenzie said.

The Crown Counsel lawyer was also not satisfied that the available evidence supported a charge that Wright had willfully failed or refused to provide a breath sample without a reasonable excuse.

MacKenzie said the force used by police against Wright was also taken into consideration in concluding that there was no substantial likelihood of conviction.

The rest is here:
Man with brain injury not charged