Castlegar RCMP officer found not guilty of manslaughter

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The trial was held inside Nelson's Capitol Theatre.

A jury acquitted a Southern Interior RCMP officer of manslaughter Friday night, following eight weeks of trial.

Const. Jason Tait was charged in 2018 with the killing of Waylon Edey, after Tait shot Edey during an attempted traffic stop in Castlegar on Jan. 29, 2015.

Const. Tait shot at Edey's vehicle four times as the 39-year-old Edey was driving on Highway 3, through Castlegar. Tait suspected Edey, a father of four and resident of Yahk, was driving intoxicated.

The long jury trial was held in Nelson over the past two months inside the Capitol Theatre, to allow for distanced seating amongst those in attendance. The jury returned with a not guilty verdict after about five hours of deliberation.

Additionally, the jury found Tait not guilty on the lesser included charge of dangerous driving.

The manslaughter charge was approved after an investigation by the Independent Investigations Office. The civilian oversight body recommends charges be laid when there is a “substantial likelihood of conviction based on the evidence” and a prosecution is in the public interest.

The National Police Federation, which represents 20,000 RCMP members, applauded the jury's decisions, and says Const. Tait will be returning to his duties following his acquittal.

Brian Sauvé, president of the National Police Federation President, said the IIO erred in recommending charges to the Crown. 

Edey's mother, meanwhile, filed a civil suit against Const. Tait back in 2016, and the lawsuit remains ongoing. In her notice of civil claim, Deborah Edey says the shooting of her son was “unwarranted in the circumstances," and has left his four children without the “love, guidance, training, affection and companionship” of their father.