A Canadian police officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing following a tragic crash which resulted in the death of a young Irishman.
Brendan Keogh, 29, was struck by the on-duty officer's unmarked SUV in the town of Squamish in Vancouver, British Columbia, as he was walking at the intersection of Highway 99 and Garibaldi Way on March 13 last year.
Mr Keogh, a native of Mullinalaghta, Co Longford, was hospitalised but never regained consciousness.
He passed away after being transferred home to Dublin's Mater Hospital on August 1, 2018.
A Canadian police watchdog have now said the officer involved will not face any charges, local newspaper The Squamish Chief reports.
"The evidence collected does not provide grounds to consider any charges against any officer,” Ronald MacDonald, the chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) said.
He added: “I do not consider that an officer may have committed an offence under any enactment and therefore the matter will not be referred to Crown counsel for consideration of charges.”
Mr MacDonald's report found the officer had been driving under the speed limit in the slow lane and had passed through a green light at the intersection.
It also found the officer braked before the vehicle hit Mr Keogh.
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“There is nothing in the evidence collected that suggests [the officer] was driving in a manner that would appear to a reasonable person to be way dangerous or without proper care and attention,” Mr MacDonald said.
“To the contrary, all the evidence shows .. (the officer) was driving as a reasonable driver would.”
Mr MacDonald added that Mr Keogh was sober and that he "made a tragic error" by crossing the highway against the traffic signal on "a dark and rainy night."
He said: “This placed him in front of [the officer’s] vehicle. The collision was unfortunately unavoidable.”
