A man accused of driving his SUV into two police cars and injuring a pair of Surrey RCMP officers on Monday has been charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
Police are alleging that James Burton Weaver, 47, intentionally tried to hit them and/or their cars.
At about 3 p.m. on Jan. 27 in the parking lot outside the RCMP detachment in Newton, near 72 Avenue and 137 Street, a green Ford Explorer struck one police cruiser, pushing it into a second police vehicle.
A female Mountie was inside the first car, while a male officer was on foot. The officer in the car suffered soft tissue injuries, a haematoma to her left shoulder and a torn rotator cuff. The officer on foot was pinned between the two police cruisers, but sustained only a minor injury to one leg. Both were taken to hospital and have been released.
Weaver’s girlfriend Kathy Labinsky told CTV News he had recently gone off medication for depression.
“He said that he was feeling good so he didn’t think he needed them, so he quit taking them and then you could see the instant decline,” she said. “He needs professional help, medication, probably some counselling. This has been building up for a while. I could see this coming. I was afraid of where it was going.”
Weaver has previously been convicted of possession of a controlled substance and assault, among other things, but Labinsky told CTV he had cleaned up his act in recent years, receiving an award for turning his life around.
Weaver was uninjured in the collision and appeared in Surrey Provincial Court on Tuesday and Wednesday. His next court appearance – scheduled as a bail hearing – is Feb. 5.
~with files from Sheila Reynolds and CTV News