Port Moody Police officer charged in 2023 crash with motorcycle

Charges have been approved against a Port Moody Police officer, after a motorcyclist was left with serious injuries following a crash.

Police previously said that, on July 25, 2023, a frontline officer tried to pull the motorcyclist over when they reportedly didn’t stop and tried to drive away.

The motorcyclist ended up colliding with a police vehicle at the intersection of Glenayre and Valour drives, and suffered serious injuries. At the time, police described their injuries as non-life-threatening.

The Independent Investigations Office was called in.

The IIO said last month that its investigation determined “reasonable grounds exist to believe that one officer may have committed offences in relation to the use of their police vehicle.”

As a result, the police oversight agency forwarded its report to the BC Prosecution Service for the consideration of charges.

The BC Prosecution Service says Sgt. Kris Sledding has since been charged with one count of driving without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway, and one count of failing to drive on the right-hand half of the roadway, in connection with the incident.

It adds the charges were approved “by an experienced Crown Counsel with no prior or current connection with the officer.”

The IIO says in order to approve any charges, “the BC Prosecution Service must be satisfied that there is a substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence gathered by the IIO, and that prosecution be required in the public interest.”

Sledding is expected in court for a first appearance on Sept. 4.