Police-worn body cameras recommended after B.C. coroner's inquest

A jury in a coroner's inquest into the police killing of a British Columbia man eight years ago says the province and the RCMP should speed up the introduction of police body cameras.

Waylon Edey was 39 years old when he died in hospital in Trail, B.C., after being shot in the head by a police officer who was later charged and acquitted of manslaughter.

The RCMP had been responding to a complaint about a driver on Highway 3 in Castlegar, B.C., on Jan. 29, 2015.

RCMP Const. Jason Tait shot Edey during an “attempted traffic stop,” the Independent Investigations Office of BC found, and Tait was acquitted on charges of manslaughter using a firearm and criminal negligence causing death with a firearm in November 2020.

At the time, the acquittal was applauded by the National Police Federation, the RCMP's collective bargaining organization, which pointed out in a news release after Tait's not guilty verdict that Edey “had a lengthy record of impaired driving and violence.”

“The jury returned their decision after only five hours of deliberation, following eight weeks of trial,” federation President Brian Sauve said. “This should have been resolved much earlier, and should not have gone to court, leaving both Cst. Tait, his family, and Mr. Edey's family waiting for five years for a clear and fair resolution.”

Sauve said the province's independent police watchdog was “overwhelmed and under-resourced” at the time of its investigation, which resulted in a “lengthy, unnecessary subsequent criminal proceeding.”

A coroner's inquest into Edey's death wrapped up on Friday, and the inquest jury has made a number of recommendations for the provincial government, the RCMP, and the city of Castlegar after digging into the facts behind the fatal shooting.