RCMP release details about charges against man suing two officers

Photo: Colin Dacre

In the wake of a lawsuit filed against the Kelowna RCMP by a man alleging he was nearly killed by a police dog during his arrest in August, the detachment is releasing new details about separate and more-recent charges the plaintiff is facing. 

Fernando Verde filed a lawsuit Friday naming two Kelowna officers over an arrest on August 1 that saw him require resuscitation at Kelowna General Hospital after being taken down by a police dog. RCMP said they believed Verde to be responsible for the theft of an e-bike and were pursuing him as a suspect, but Verde claims in his lawsuit he had permission from the owner to take the bike. Verde was never charged.

That arrest is under investigation by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. and the RCMP did not respond to request for comment on the lawsuit on Friday. 

But in a news release Monday, the Kelowna RCMP announced Verde was arrested in a stolen vehicle back on October 6.

Just before 5:30 p.m. that day, an elderly woman reported that her Buick Verano had been stolen from the parking lot of a business in the 1500-block of Banks Road in Kelowna while she was shopping.

"Just before midnight of the same day, a Kelowna RCMP officer located the woman's vehicle in the 1500-block of Highway 33," said Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy. "The front line RCMP officer followed the vehicle and arrested the driver a short time later without incident. The vehicle was returned to its grateful owner."

Verde was charged with a single count of possession of stolen property over $5,000 on October 7. The RCMP news release Monday did not comment on Verde’s lawsuit against the detachment and said no additional information would be released.

Verde has been actively engaged in the criminal justice system for a variety of property-related offences since 2017, according to online court records.