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Kelowna  

Student at centre of violent 'wellness check' frustrated with lack of prosecution of Mountie

Faith in system 'diminishing'

The UBCO student at the centre of a disturbing video showing the violent aftermath of a “wellness check” last year is frustrated by the lack of prosecution of the officer involved.

It has been more than 14 months since Const. Lacey Browning pulled Mona Wang from her apartment and dragged her down the hallway unconscious and handcuffed before pushing her head into the ground with her boot. Wang was having a mental health crisis at the time.

“I just want to be able to move on,” Wang told Castanet News on Thursday. “It’s still in the back of my head and I just want to be over with this chapter.”

“I’m still struggling after what she’s done to me and I think it's something that I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life, but I just really want to see some justice or some kind of accountability.”

Wang filed her lawsuit against Browning and the RCMP over the incident back in March 2020, which became national news once Castanet News published surveillance video of the incident in June.

At a news conference after the footage was released, the commanding officer of the RCMP in Southeast District of B.C. offered Wang an apology.

“If that was my family member or friend, I would have deep concerns and want answers as well,” he said at the time, suggesting the file would be in the hands of Crown prosecutors within two weeks.

RCMP announced in the middle of July that their probe into the wellness check had ended, but the Abbotsford Police Department — which was tasked with independently reviewing file — sent it back to RCMP for more investigation. The file’s status has since remained unchanged and police are unwilling to explain the massive delays.

“It’s been pretty clear to not only Canada, but the world, that she was really brutal and careless with how she dealt with my situation,” Wang said. “It’s been over a year, I feel like they’ve had enough time to collect all the information and talk to all the witnesses.”

As time passes the recollection of witnesses is only getting foggier, she added.

While her faith in the system is “diminishing,” Wang says there isn’t much else she can do besides “have that spark of hope.”

She said an assault charge this week on another Kelowna RCMP officer, Siggy Pietrzak, is encouraging for her. “It makes me happy to see other people are getting their accountability and victims are finding justice.”

A BC RCMP spokesperson said Thursday the Wang file “remains ongoing and progress is checked weekly.”

“The criminal investigation has been handled by police officers with Southeast District General Investigation Section. We don’t have a timeline with respect to the criminal investigation and the internal investigation also remains active and ongoing,” the RCMP statement said.

Const. Browning, meanwhile, remains assigned to administrative duties.



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