A police officer in Victoria took “reckless and unnecessary” action when he fired plastic bullets into a smokey room, killing a woman, according to a decision by the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner (OPCC).
The finding, comes from retired judge Wally Oppal, who presided over the OPCC’s public hearing into the death of Lisa Rauch, 43.
The hearing was ordered by the OPCC after previous investigations by both B.C.’s Internal Investigations Office and an investigation by Vancouver Police found no wrongdoing.
The OPCC monitors and investigates municipal police forces and administers discipline according to the Police Act. As a civilian office of the B.C. government it is independent from municipal police forces.
The hearing, which ran for 16 days spread out over six months, sought to determine two things: whether Sgt. Ron Kirkwood (then a constable) committed abuse of authority by using unnecessary force against Rauch, and whether he committed neglect of duty by not making notes after the incident.
Oppal ruled yes to the first question, and no to the second. He also outlined the series of events leading up to the incident in his decision.
Kirkwood was one of the officers who responded to a call on Christmas Day, 2019, when Rauch had locked herself in the room of a supportive housing unit in Victoria where she was visiting a friend.
According to witnesses, Rauch was in a drug-induced psychosis and had threatened people with a knife if they entered the suite.
Police initially waited in the hallway for crisis communicators to come, but the situation changed when a fire in the room triggered the building’s fire alarms.
Worried the fire could spread, Kirkwood and other police officers opened the door and gathered at the entry, along with two firefighters.
Kirkwood was armed with an anti-riot device called an Arwen gun, which shoots plastic bullets. According to testimony outlined in Oppal’s report, police consider it to be a “less lethal” weapon — when it hits someone below the clavicle.
The firefighters then used a hose to spray water into the room, and Kirkwood fired three rounds of the Arwen gun, aiming at what he thought was Rauch’s abdomen.
Because it was smokey, Kirkwood testified he could not see her head, but he thought she was standing.
But Rauch was actually seated, facing away from the door, and Kirkwood shot the back of her head, not her stomach.
She died in hospital a few days later.
CCTV footage shown at the hearing showed it was 46 seconds from when police entered the unit to when they were carrying Rauch out into the hall.
In his ruling, Oppal acknowledged that it was a stressful and chaotic situation, with smoke and noise, and Rauch yelling but not responding to attempts from police to speak with her.
But, he said testimony from firefighters indicated the fire was lessened by the water, and Kirkwood could see enough of Rauch to know that she wasn’t advancing on them — so any immediate risk was gone.
“The circumstances were not such, when he identified what he believed to be Ms. Rauch 15 feet away, that he was deprived of a meaningful opportunity to reflect and reassess,” wrote Oppal in his report.
Given that, Oppal found that Kirkwood committed abuse of authority.
He is expected to suggest discipline, and recommend corrective measures to Victoria Police, at a later date that is still to be determined.
Decision comes as a surprise
Both police and the Rauch family said they were surprised by the decision.
Kirkwood stood and left the room as soon as Oppal said that abuse of authority had been committed — while Oppal was still talking.
His boss, Victoria police chief Del Manak, shared his surprise with reporters after the hearing concluded.
He pointed out that other investigations found Kirkwood had acted accordingly, and said it was a difficult day for everyone.
“This has really been tough. It’s been tough on our officers. It’s been tough on the family. There are no winners in this,” Manak said.
He said he’ll review the report and make recommended changes, but said his officers acted as slowly as they could to try to handle a chaotic situation.
Rauch’s mother, Audrey Rauch, said she and her family had been preparing themselves for a different result.
“I’m very grateful for his decision. Sort of shocked that it did turn out this way.”
She said it has been a long five-and-a-half years since her daughter was killed, and the journey is not over yet.
Audrey Rauch and her family say they are working with the coroner’s office to arrange an inquest into her daughter’s death.
She also wants people to remember that while Lisa Rauch was troubled, she was also a fun and funny woman.
