Father of man shot twice in head by RCMP in Duncan speaks out

The father of a Vancouver Island man who was shot twice in the head by police during a dramatic incident in Duncan, B.C., on Tuesday evening is questioning why such lethal action had to be taken by police.

The father of a Vancouver Island man who was shot twice in the head by police during a dramatic incident in Duncan, B.C., on Tuesday evening is questioning why such lethal action had to be taken by police.

Michael Cochrane's son, 31-year-old Davin Cochrane, was operating a skid-steer loader – a type of small construction vehicle – through a residential neighbourhood and onto a nearby park field as police pursued him and later shot him.

He was taken to hospital and remains in critical condition as of Thursday.

Michael says he wants to know why RCMP felt lethal action was necessary.

"I would like to think that the RCMP have the public's best interest at heart," he told CTV News on Thursday.

"I'm not a father who is absolutely hating the police at this point. But, and there is a but, as a father I'm wondering why his son has two bullets in his head and not a single one in his body and why lethal action was used when a lower level of aggression could've been used," he said.

Davin is engaged and is the father of a newborn. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up by two of his childhood friends to support his father, who drove down to Vancouver Island from Grande Prairie, Alta., and Davin's family as the island man remains in hospital.