A Victoria police officer was simply following police protocol to resolve a"dangerous and unprecedented" situation, according to his lawyer's final arguments in a public hearing into his conduct from a December 2019 standoff.
Rauch had barricaded herself in a supportive housing unit on Pandora Avenue on Christmas Day of 2019, allegedly high on methamphetamine and wielding a knife. After a lengthy standoff, police and firefighters entered the unit when they saw smoke coming from the window. Kirkwood shot Rauch with an ARWEN weapon, which fires plastic, barrel-shaped projectiles.
Despite Woodall arguing his client"did not commit any professional misconduct," Chris Considine, who works as counsel for the OPCC and is a neutral party in the hearing, raised several concerns in his own closing statement. This is common in cases involving police-involved deaths or serious injuries, but the law is murky on the topic, creating confusion for police forces across B.C.