Mountie who pleaded guilty to 2020 assault of UBCO nursing student receives conditional discharge

Video obtained by CTV News shows Mona Wang lying on the ground as Const. Lacy Browning stands over her during an incident at her Kelowna, B.C., apartment building on Jan. 20, 2020.

A B.C. woman is raising concern after the Mountie who assaulted her during a 2020 wellness check received a conditional discharge—a sentence the victim has described as “a slap on the wrist.”

Kelowna RCMP officer Const. Lacy Browning has been placed on probation for two years and must complete 160 hours of community service, the B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed following Monday’s sentencing.

Browning pleaded guilty last summer to one count of assault in connection to a wellness check at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus on Jan. 20, 2020, which resulted in then-nursing-student Mona Wang being seriously injured.

At the time, Wang was experiencing a mental health crisis and her boyfriend had called police out of concern she was planning to harm herself.

Security video showing the assault was disclosed as part of a civil lawsuit filed by Wang, and shows Browning dragging the student face-down along a carpeted hallway before stepping on her.

After Wang came forward, more allegations against Browning surfaced, which is one of the reasons Wang takes issue with the sentence handed down on Monday.

“With a history of assaulting vulnerable civilians, there is no guarantee that she will refrain from harming more after her conditional sentence is over,” wrote Wang in a statement to CTV News Wednesday. "After waiting three years since the assault, it’s very disappointing to find out that Browning essentially received a slap on the wrist for all the trauma she had caused me."

Wang, who is now a registered nurse working in psychiatry, acknowledged the trauma Browning has experienced in her life, which was detailed in a Gladue report considered in court.

This type of pre-sentencing report is produced in cases where the offender is Indigenous, and therefore may face unique circumstances.

"My heart goes out to Browning after hearing about her compassion fatigue and the trauma she detailed in her Gladue report, but that is no excuse to engage in unsafe practices and violence against others," Wang said.

“As a nurse working in psychiatry, I recognize how vicious compassion fatigue is, but it is our duty as professionals to continuously reflect on our fitness to work to protect those whom we aim to help," she added.

Browning remains on administrative duties, pending an ongoing internal review of the case by RCMP.

Wang says she’s hopeful that the RCMP "will do what’s right to remove this dangerous individual from the force."