B.C. Mounties have confirmed a Traffic Services officer is under investigation after being injured while performing a stunt at a motorcycle festival in Squamish last weekend.
A video of the incident circulating online shows the unnamed officer, in uniform and riding an RCMP motorcycle in the middle of a street that was closed for the Squamish Motorcycle Festival on Saturday, Aug. 10.
The video, which was shot by Short Fuse Motorsports, shows the officer has the front tire of the motorcycle lined up directly against another rider’s front tire, while they both accelerate against each other, causing the back tires to spin and create smoke.
After a few seconds, the RCMP motorcycle shifts slightly to the right and then lurches forward, making contact with a third motorcycle that was also performing in the street, sending it veering into a group of bystanders.
"The actions of the officer are not in keeping with my expectations or that of the RCMP," Supt. Holly Turton said in a statement. "We expect our officers to exercise better judgement than what was displayed in the video."
Adam Rabeda, who shot the video for Short Fuse Motorsports, says the incident has been "blown out of proportion."
"No one got hurt,” Rabeda said. “Safety procedures were in place and that’s why no one got hurt.”
According to RCMP, there were no civilian injuries reported but the officer had minor injuries and there was minimal damage to the police motorcycle.
RCMP did not say what kind of discipline the officer could face pending the results of the internal investigation.
“We would bring him onboard on the team any day,” said Rabeda. “And hopefully the RCMP will not pursue any further actions with the officer.”
