Officer charged in 2015 traffic stop shooting
Posted April 3, 2018 4:00 pm.
Last Updated April 3, 2018 5:25 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CASTLEGAR (NEWS 1130) – More than three years after a deadly shooting near Castlegar, the mother of the man who died now knows the name of the officer who shot him.
The Independent Investigations Office says officers were responding to a driving complaint on January 29th, 2015, when an officer shot a man.
Waylon Edey, a 39-year-old Yahk resident, died in hospital.
Constable Jason Tait has now been charged with one count of manslaughter using a firearm. The man’s mother, Deborah, says she’s never been told why that fatal shot was fired.
“We just found out the officer’s name today. We had no information whatsoever.”
She recalls the original incident when police didn’t initially tell her that Waylon was shot.
“They showed me a picture of his tattoo he had on his arm and asked me if I knew of anybody who had this tattoo.” She’s now been told Constable Jason Tait fired the deadly shot during an attempted traffic stop.
“Honestly, I broke down this morning when he gave me that information because it has been very hard on the whole family. I have two other kids. It tore them apart and it tore his children apart. Just been absolutely horrid that we had to wait so long.”
She believes her son’s death could’ve been prevented.
“They didn’t have to shoot. They could have done all kinds of other things to stop him. He was a gentle man. Wasn’t a fighter at all. He was a good man.”
Edey is suing the RCMP. She says her son, who was a father of four, had moved to Yahk to help her after his father passed away.
An RCMP spokeswoman says Tait is currently on paid administrative leave. Tait’s first court appearance is set for April 30th.
