Police misconduct ruling in death of B.C. woman Lisa Rauch, killed by anti-riot round

An adjudicator appointed by British Columbia’s police watchdog has found a Victoria officer committed misconduct when he fired an anti-riot weapon at a woman in 2019, striking her in the head and killing her.

Retired judge Wally Oppal says in his ruling for the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner that Sgt. Ron Kirkwood’s use of the so-called ARWEN rounds against Lisa Rauch was “reckless and unnecessary.”

No date has been set for Oppal’s decision on possible discipline or other recommendations.

Rauch had locked herself in an apartment on Christmas Day, 2019, resulting in a police call that ended with her death when Kirkwood fired three ARWEN rounds into the room.

Oppal says this was “objectively unreasonable” due to Kirkwood’s obscured view of the room.

Police Complaint Commissioner Prabhu Rajan says the case involved the first public hearing called under the B.C. Police Act into a person’s death