British Columbia·NewA Kelowna-based RCMP officer has been charged with assault in connection to an incident that happened on Aug. 18, 2023.Const. Russell Reeder, 50 placed on supported administrative leave, internal investigation underwayCBC News · Posted: Sep 05, 2025 6:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 28 minutes agoCharges were sworn in Kelowna against an RCMP officer on Sept. 4, 2025. (Brady Strachan/CBC)A Kelowna-based RCMP officer has been charged with assault in connection to an incident that happened on Aug. 18, 2023.The B.C. Prosecution Service says it approved the charges against Const. Russell Reeder, 50, in Kelowna provincial court on Sept. 4.”The charges were approved by an experienced Crown Counsel who has no connection with the accused,” the service said in a release.Reeder’s first court date is Sept. 18.B.C. RCMP media relations officer Staff Sgt. Kris Clark said Reeder has been placed on supported administrative leave and that his “duty status is subject to continuous review and assessment.”Additionally, he said a code of conduct investigation is ongoing.Neither RCMP nor the B.C. Prosecution Service would provide any further details on what is alleged to have happened in the incident.B.C.’s Independent Investigations Office, which investigates whenever police-related incidents result in death or serious harm, has no record of the incident on its site.However, the office noted in an email to CBC News that not every instance of alleged assault would necessarily constitute “serious harm,” defined in the Police Act as “injury that may result in death, may cause serious disfigurement or may cause substantial loss or impairment of mobility of the body as a whole or of the function of any limb or organ.”Officer previously awarded, suedReeder has previously been publicly identified, in one case for receiving recognition for his service and in another for being sued by a member of the public.In 2019, Reeder was awarded by RCMP for bravery for his role in dealing with what the source said was a “emotionally disturbed suicidal man.”In that case, the force says, Reeder was attempting to de-escalate the situation when he was attacked by the man with a pair of scissors, which were used to stab a can of pepper spray.However, Reeder was able to “take control” of the situation without further injury, the RCMP said.In the second instance, Reeder was sued by a quadriplegic man named Steven Margetts who alleged he suffered serious injury while being arrested at a traffic stop conducted by Reeder and one other officer in 2022.It alleges Reeder denied Margetts access to a lift when ordering him to leave his vehicle, used a taser on him, and pulled him out of his vehicle.Reeder denied the allegations, and court documents show Margetts has been charged with impaired operation of a vehicle, assault of a peace officer and willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer, with his next appearance scheduled for Oct. 15, 2025.Additionally, an Independent Investigations Office investigation of the incident concluded earlier this year found that Margetts did not suffer injuries that rose to the level of “serious harm.”
Kelowna RCMP officer charged with assault, placed on administrative leave
