Okanagan family sues, seeking answers in son’s police-involved death | 24CA News

It’s been greater than three years since an Okanagan man died after police tried to arrest him.

But Clayton Donnelly’s mother and father say they nonetheless don’t know the main points of what occurred.

“We want details of what exactly happened on that night and why did a traffic stop turn into a murder or turn into a death? Why?” stated Kathy Donnelly, Clayton’s mom.

Desperate to be taught what occurred to their son and pressure establishments to vary, the mother and father have filed a lawsuit over Clayton’s demise.

“We just want want to know some answers,” Kathy Donnelly stated.

“We don’t want another family to go through this same situation.”

What B.C.’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO), has stated publicly is that in the course of the night time on a Monday in October 2019 Clayton was reported driving erratically within the Lake Country space and that after two unsuccessful visitors stops the car was stopped in Malakwa and police tried to arrest Clayton.

“When we went the next day it was sort of quite clear he was brain dead,” Kathy Donnelly stated, noting the household then needed to resolve whether or not to take the 38-year-old man off life assist.

“You trust the RCMP to care for the public and here we are we don’t know anything and we’re in the hospital and now he is brain dead.”

The household’s lawsuit alleges police tasered Clayton within the neck through the arrest and that this result in his demise. The courtroom motion argues the officer’s use of the taser was reckless and amounted to an extreme use of pressure.

Clayton’s father Kevin Donnelly wonders why the arrest, which occurred in a really rural space, wasn’t dealt with in a different way.

“Who is in charge and what was the plan or was there one? Nothing makes sense but we can’t get any answers so we have to [sue] to get them to try to say something,” Kevin Donnelly stated.

The IIO investigated and in late 2021 introduced it had despatched a report to Crown counsel saying there was “reasonable grounds… to believe that an officer may have committed a criminal offense through their use of force.”

However, greater than a yr later, prosecutors haven’t determined whether or not to cost the cop leaving the household with out closure.

“We keep asking and they just say there is nothing. How could there be just nothing. Just give us the information you have. Maybe it is not complete but give us the information,” Kathy Donnelly stated.

None of the allegations within the lawsuit have been examined in courtroom.

The IIO stated it errs on the aspect of withholding info to make sure if a cost is laid, it doesn’t get thrown out.

“Our criminal justice system is designed to ensure that all persons receive a fair trial and if too much information might be released ahead of time it could actually mean that some court might stay a charge because of that so we usually err on the side of not providing information,” stated the IIO’s chief civilian director Ron MacDonald.

“We do try to share some information where possible but at the end of the day we will probably always err on the side of caution when it comes to the disclosure of information. Because of that, unfortunately on occasion, it does mean the family doesn’t receive as much information as they might have wished.”

MacDonald stated the group tries to be taught from every file together with this one.

“We always go back and look to see can we do better in the future. This case and others always will make us stop and ask what can we do better to improve the way we carry out our investigations but also how we interact with families,” MacDonald stated.

In an announcement, the RCMP stated it will possibly’t touch upon the allegations for a number of causes together with that the matter is earlier than the courts.

“The RCMP is awaiting the results of the BC Prosecution Service charge assessment and, as per protocols, any other information gathered during the IIO BC investigation which may be relevant to RCMP internal processes. Until that occurs, it would be inappropriate for the RCMP to comment further on any allegations, civil or otherwise,” senior media relations officer Staff Sergeant Kris Clark.

What police may say is that the entire officers concerned within the incident stay operational.

The BC Prosecution Service stated it doesn’t have a timeline for when it is going to determined if any cost needs to be laid and didn’t reply to a query about issues it’s taking too lengthy to resolve whether or not to cost the officer.

MacDonald did admit it took the IIO longer than he would have favored to research the incident. It was greater than two years between when the demise occurred and when the IIO introduced it had despatched its report back to Crown.

MacDonald stated the pandemic and lack of “resources” on the IIO impacted the velocity of the investigation.

“I have spoken on many occasions in the past about the resource challenges that our office has had and while steps are being taken to improve that thanks to some help from the government at that time we certainly had significant resource challenges and this case was a complex one,” MacDonald stated.

“In the end it did take longer than I would have liked to see it take. However, we want to always make sure we are able to present the best case to the Crown if I believe that that’s what should happen.”

Kevin Donnelly describes his son as particular person with numerous pals and a “small statured, unaggressive guy.”

The father’s Rutland lounge is peppered with photos of Clayton in happier occasions: graduating from highschool, taking part in hockey and hanging out with household.

Kathy Donnelly stated her son was very sort and had a terrific snigger.

“[He] was always laughing. He was a lot of fun,” Kathy Donnelly stated.

The mother and father stated their 38-year-old son lived with psychological well being challenges and had many comparatively benign interactions with police.

“Many times police had taken him into the hospital or overnight just to settle him down,” stated Kevin Donnelly.

“They never had any issues violently with him at all…Even officers had said he is a nice kid he just has problems. They would have a cigarettes and talk him down.”

The lawsuit argues Clayton’s psychological well being meant he “required special care in his dealings with the RCMP.”

“Our son we feel should have been in a hospital or jail for driving erratically but he should not have been dead,” Kevin Donnelly stated.