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Vernon  

Parents don't blame Mountie

Two Cherryville parents continue to grieve the loss of their daughter, but are relieved they no longer have to deal with a dangerous driving trial for an RCMP officer.

Salmon Arm Cst. Micah Chan was acquitted on Thursday, and found not guilty on a single charge of dangerous driving.

Chan was charged after a high-speed pursuit in 2011 ended in the death of a young woman, 21-year-old Courtenay Brianne Eggen.

Eggen allegedly took off from Cst. Chan when he tried to pull her over after she went through a stop sign. The short two-minute pursuit ended when Eggen drove her vehicle at a high rate of speed into the back of a dump truck, losing her life.

Around the same time, Chan lost control of his police vehicle which ended up sliding down a small embankment on the opposite side of the road.

At the time of the incident, the police watchdog unit (Independent Investigations Office) was involved and the crown recommended charges against Chan based on their investigation.

Thursday, in a Salmon Arm courtroom, Judge Anne Wallace ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Chan drove dangerously endangering the public.

Courtenay Eggen’s parents, Ian and Helen Eggen, attended every day of the trial and took time to speak with media after the verdict was read, saying they respect the judgment and do not hold Cst. Chan accountable for their daughter’s death.

“The loss of (a) child is difficult to take and I am sure (Chan) is very sorry for the fact it happened, but we don’t hold him to blame for it,” said an emotional Ian Eggen, as teared flowed down his face.

Just before that comment was made, Wallace read her verdict as officers in attendance congratulated Chan with pats on the back.

He then immediately went to the Eggens outside the courtroom to offer his condolences. They said he was told not to speak with them before the verdict was read, and were happy to share a moment with him.

“He obviously had a lot of police support here, which I think is a good testimony to his character,” added Mr. Eggen.

He says they look forward to sitting down with the ‘young officer’ in the future when emotions are not as high.

For them, the trial was an overwhelming experience, as much of the information and evidence provided was new to them.

They had remained removed from the process and along with the judge, learnt the circumstances surrounding their daughter’s death.

The couple say they never wanted an officer to be blamed, but instead wanted the process to be evaluated.

“We weren’t here looking for vengeance or anything like that. We wanted information on what happened,” says Mr. Eggen. “He seems like he is a fine young officer, but this had to be in the public eye to ensure the information was out there.”

“We didn’t want anybody to lose his or her job over this,” adds Mrs. Eggen. “We would like to see that maybe there will be some changes in decision making, surrounding when you are going to engage in a high speed pursuit, lets have a second thought.”

They believe items like dash-cams on all police vehicles and time-stamps on radio transmissions would help paint a clearer picture and protect the public and the officer from any discrepancies in evidence.

The Eggens say both the IIO office and the Crown Counsel did an admirable job of putting the evidence forward and feel Judge Wallace took the verdict seriously and was very in-depth in her rationale.

“I don’t believe there were any visible steps overlooked in this process and I think we can take confidence that the police are being held accountable, because they are a very tight nit group,” noted Mr. Eggen.

They say the loss of their daughter has had a profound impact on their lives, but this trial was not about laying blame, as they hold their daughter accountable for her actions, it was about producing change for the future.

“No matter what we do, nothing will bring her back,” says an emotional Mrs. Eggen. “We will never know, we will never know the whole story and that is the unfortunate part.”

Her mom says Courtenay was born and raised in Cherryville with her big brother, and was living in Salmon Arm going to trades school to be an electrician.

“I want everyone to know that Courtenay was a good girl,” says Mrs. Eggen through tears. “It was just unfortunate.”

“In her life things were going really good and she wouldn’t have done anything to jeopardize that. She was doing really well,” adds Mrs. Eggen. “She loved animals, she helped everybody where she could, she was full of life.”



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