Citing insufficient evidence to get a conviction, the province's Criminal Justice Branch has decided not to charge the Kamloops RCMP officer who shot and killed Wilbert Bartley last summer.

The five-page decision, released Thursday, says an exhaustive investigation involving senior prosecutors concluded there is no evidence the officer was not lawfully defending himself and others from death or grievous bodily harm, or that his use of force was excessive.

"As a result no charges will be laid against him," the decision says.

(Please note that you can view a PDF of the entire Criminal Justice Branch decision by clicking on a link to the right under Related Links.)

The news lifted a dark cloud that has hung over the Kamloops detachment since the shooting 10 months ago but left Bartley's already devastated family feeling like justice hasn't been served.

"I'm living without my son," said an angry Catherine Bartley, 74. "Pieces of my heart are all over the place."

Addressing the media during a press conference Thursday afternoon, RCMP Supt. Yves Lacasse offered the Bartleys his sympathy.

"The family is still grieving and today, learning of this decision, is still part of their grieving process," he said. "I wish them all of the best. I know this is very difficult."

The detachment needed to face this day, said Lacasse, adding the two officers have been deemed fit to return to active duty.

The decision outlines the encounter in detail, saying Bartley pulled up to the Robo carwash/Esso gas bar/So Expresso at about 6:10 p.m. on July 30. He went into the gas station, made a purchase and returned to his vehicle.

At that point two plainclothes officers spotted Bartley and decided to speak to him about a laptop computer they wanted to return to him, the decision says.

Witnesses said the officers' badges were visible, as were their firearms, and they were easily identifiable as police.

The officers pulled up along the driver's side of Bartley's Toyota 4Runner in an unmarked police van. One officer got out of the passenger's side and approached Bartley to speak to him through his driver's window.

"At that time there were a number of other people in the parking lot and its immediate vicinity," the statement says.

The officers said Bartley appeared nervous, panicked and shaking. He also looked like he was going to put his vehicle in reverse.

The officer in the van, concerned the space between the vehicles was confined and his partner could be stuck, backed up and parked at a right angle fifteen feet behind the 4Runner.

Bartley put his vehicle in reverse and slammed into the van before speeding forward at the officer, who fired three shots, killing Bartley.

"The police officer who fired the shots was convinced that he would have been run over had the truck continued on its original path," says the statement.

The statement says this was confirmed by a number of witnesses, "one of who stated emphatically that the officer had 'no choice'."

An autopsy showed Bartley had several drugs in his system, including cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol and marijuana; a combination one expert said could produce paranoia or psychosis.

Lacasse said this was a tragic and regrettable situation, one no police officer wants to be a part of.

"I can assure you the last thing any officer wants to do when they go to work is fire their duty pistol," he said.

Lacasse said the case will be the subject of a coroner's inquest, the date of which has not been set.

Catherine Bartley hopes the inquest will provide closure for her family. She vowed to return to Kamloops and seek more answers about the shooting.

"This is not over," she said.

The outcome comes as no surprise to David Eby, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. He said charges have never been laid in a police-involved death in this province and doesn't see why the Bartley case would be any different.

"It's still the police investigating themselves and the Criminal Justice Branch reviewing a police case, who they deal with every day," said Eby.

"Unfortunately for Mr. Bartley, he was shot before the new provincial body was set up."

Had the Independent Investigation Office been in place, the Bartley case could have ended differently, said Eby.

jhewlett@kamloopsnews.ca