B.C. RCMP officer won't be charged in woman's death, despite 'significantly negligent' response

Alishia Lemp was found dead in a Vernon motel in February 2020. (Springfield Funeral Home)

A British Columbia RCMP officer was "significantly negligent" when he responded to a homicide at an Okanagan motel, but there is no proof his negligence contributed to the victim's death, the province's police oversight agency has ruled.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. on Thursday released its findings into the police response to the killing of 33-year-old Alishia Lemp in a Vernon motel in February 2020.

The police watchdog found the unnamed officer was dispatched to the motel following a 911 call about two women arguing and one woman possibly being assaulted. The Mountie "remained stationary for approximately eight minutes" in his vehicle "and then made his way to the scene without haste," the report found.

Once on scene, the officer met briefly with the motel manager, who assured him everything was all right, before leaving the scene three minutes later, the watchdog said.

The officer did not speak to the person who placed the 911 call, nor did he visit the room where the assault took place.

"The (officer's) clear duty was to investigate personally, by locating and speaking with the complainant and by going to the location where the alleged assault had occurred in an attempt to find and assist a potential victim," Sandra J. Hentzen, the interim chief civilian director of the IIO, wrote in the report.

"The sworn duty of this officer, and every officer, is to preserve life," she continued. "Instead, of that, in the course of a brief and cursory conversation at the motel front desk, he delegated that responsibility to the motel manager and then walked away."

Time of death inconclusive

Lemp's body was found in the motel room the following evening. Paige Courtney Howse was arrested in 2021 and was charged in her death.

Howse was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced in May to five years in prison, less three years and four months for time already served. The court heard that Howse beat Lemp over the head with a wine bottle during a loud argument.

The police oversight agency, which investigates all officer-related incidents that result in death or serious harm in B.C., whether or not there are allegations of wrongdoing on the part of the police, found the officer showed negligence in his failure to visit the room where the assault occurred.

"This was neither an onerous nor a complex task, and clearly what is routinely expected in a case of possible domestic violence," the agency's report said. "It meant walking the several metres to the rooms in question, and conducting the most basic types of inquiries."

Despite the finding of police negligence, the IIO did not recommend criminal charges because investigators could not prove the officer's actions or inactions contributed to the woman's death.

"The (victim) may have already been deceased at the time the (officer) went to the motel, or may have been healthy and not have been killed until later on," the report said.

A post-mortem report did not establish a time of death or a length of time that Lemp would have been alive after sustaining her injuries. The pathologist told investigators Lemp may have been alive for a "significant time" between the assault and her death, but it was not possible to say conclusively that medical intervention would have saved her life, according to the report.

Hentzen concluded that grounds for criminal charges against the officer could not be established, and therefore the case would not be referred to Crown prosecutors.