File photo.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
The Crown says no criminal charges will be laid against a Vancouver-area RCMP officer whose police dog bit and severely injured a 41-year-old man.
The province's criminal justice branch says it has not approved charges against a member of the Mountie's police service dog unit following in incident in North Vancouver on Dec. 13 of last year.
A Crown counsel review found there was little chance of conviction on a charge of assault or assault causing bodily harm, because lawyers could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that releasing the police dog amounted to excessive force.
Officers were responding to a report of fraud at a North Vancouver financial institution when they spotted a man running from the bank.
A police dog was used to track the man and he was located nearby, but he was bitten and severely injured during the arrest.
A probe by B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office, which investigates cases involving police, wrapped up in June and the matter was then forwarded to Crown for a decision.