B.C. RCMP officer won't stand trial for on-duty shooting

An RCMP patch can be seen on an officer's shirt in this undated file photo. (File)

A B.C. RCMP officer who was charged in an on-duty shooting nearly four years ago will not stand trial, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Keven Biagioni, who is now a sergeant with the Chilliwack RCMP, was charged with discharging a firearm with intent, aggravated assault, and careless use of a firearm. Following a preliminary inquiry and a Crown-commissioned expert report on the use of force, those charges have been stayed, the B.C. Prosecution Service said.

"Based on the evidence at the preliminary inquiry and the use of force expert’s conclusion that the use of force was reasonable, necessary, and proportionate in the circumstances, Crown counsel determined that there was no longer a substantial likelihood of conviction," BCPS said in a statement.

"The BCPS has concluded that the available evidence no longer meets the charge assessment standard."

The charges stemmed from an arrest in January of 2021, when Biagioni fired two shots at a domestic violence suspect who was wielding a barbecue skewer, striking the man once in the chest.

The suspect "underwent extensive medical treatment but survived," according to the BCPS.

The arrest

The AP's wife called 911 to report she had been physically assaulted by her husband. When Biagioni arrived at the home, the man’s wife told Biagioni she had been slapped, pinned down and choked before biting her husband's thumb, injuring him enough that he stopped choking her and distracting him enough that she was able to escape, the BCPS said.

By the time police arrived, the AP had fled the scene. While police were searching for him, his wife called 911 again and said her husband was "sending her text messages threatening to kill her friend and stating that he was going to kill a police officer to force another officer to shoot him," according to the BCPS.

Police found the AP in his truck 90 minutes later, and called for backup. In total, nine officers were involved in the arrest.

"All officers at the scene, including Const. Biagioni, were designated to use lethal force," the BCPS's overview said.

After police had boxed in the AP's vehicle, the suspect got out of the car "holding an item in his hand that was later identified as a 14-inch barbeque skewer," according to the BCPS.

The AP did not obey commands to drop the weapon.

"The AP acknowledged that he had refused to put down his weapon when ordered to do so by the police. He said that he might have shuffled his feet, and agreed that he had moved his shoulders, but denied making any sudden moves," the BCPS said.

In approving the charges, Crown determined using lethal force in the circumstances was not likely to have been necessary for Biagioni to "save himself or his fellow officers from death or grievous bodily harm." One of the factors informing this assessment "the lack of clear evidence that Const. Biagioni or any other officer was proximate enough to the AP to put them at imminent risk," according to the BCPS.

The preliminary inquiry

At a five-day pre-trial hearing last year, the court heard from eight Mounties involved in the arrest, all of whom testified that they feared for their safety and the safety of their fellow officers.

One of the issues that emerged was the proximity of a police dog handler, identified only as Sgt. Ristau in the overview, to the AP. The "preponderance of evidence" at the inquiry was that the officer was less than 20 feet away from the AP, according to the BCPS.

The court also heard that the AP was high on crack cocaine, and had "raised his hands" before the shooting.

"There was some discrepancy in the evidence regarding how far the AP had raised his hands before being shot. The AP’s testimony was that he had raised his hands above his head," the BCPS said.

At the conclusion of the inquiry, the judge found "the Crown satisfied the minimal requirements for committing Const. Biagioni for trial; however, in making that finding the court commented that, based on the evidence that had been led, the likelihood of conviction was very slim, and not a realistic possibility."

The use-of-force expert

Given the outcome of the inquiry, the BCPS said the Crown decided to retain a use-of-force expert to analyze the "viability" of Biagioni mounting a defence that the shooting was reasonable and justified in the circumstances.

The expert who completed the report was described as having "over 30 years’ experience in policing in another province." The report was provided to Crown at the end of July 2024.

In concluding that Biagioni's use of force was "necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in the circumstances" the expert concluded that the skewer was a weapon "capable of killing or causing grievous bodily harm."

The expert also found that the proximity of the AP to Sgt. Ristau was such that the suspect could have used the weapon to cause the officer bodily harm or death, and that the use of less-lethal options in the circumstances were not "viable options."

The BCPS statement notes that Crown is not "bound" by an expert opinion, but that "an independent assessment of the totality of the evidence" determined there was no longer a substantial likelihood of conviction in the case.