B.C. police officer charged with motor vehicle offences after crash with motorcycle

A file photo shows a Port Moody police officer's badge and uniform.

A Port Moody, B.C., police officer was charged with two Motor Vehicle Act offences Tuesday in relation to a crash with a motorcycle last summer.

Sgt. Kris Sledding with the Port Moody Police Department has been charged with one count each of “driving without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway” and failing to drive on the right-hand side of the road, the BC Prosecution Service said.

The charges come after B.C.’s police oversight agency forwarded a report to the BCPS in June.

According to the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., on July 25, 2023, an officer attempted a traffic stop with a black motorcycle. The motorcyclist did not stop, and the officer broadcast that information to other police members.

A short time later, near the intersection of Valour and Glenayre drives, Sledding saw motorcycle driving toward him. His police vehicle and motorcycle collided, and the motorcyclist was seriously injured, the IIO said.

The police watchdog says in order for a charge to be approved against an officer, the Crown “must be satisfied that there is a substantial likelihood of conviction” and believe that a prosecution is in the public’s interest.

“The charge was approved by an experienced Crown counsel with no prior or current connection with the officer,” the BCPS wrote in a Tuesday news release.

Sledding’s first court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 4 in Port Coquitlam.