People attend a demonstration in support of nursing student Mona Wang, who alleges excessive force was used by an RCMP officer during a wellness check in Kelowna, in Vancouver, on Saturday, July 11, 2020. The BC Prosecution Service has confirmed a Mountie who pleaded guilty to assault of a University of British Columbia student during a wellness check in Kelowna has received a conditional discharge and was placed on probation for two years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
KELOWNA, B.C. – The RCMP say an officer in Kelowna, B.C., who pleaded guilty and received a conditional discharge after assaulting a student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan during a wellness check in 2020 remains on the job.
Dawn Roberts, director of communications for the B.C. RCMP, says Const. Lacy Browning has been placed on administrative duties and her status is subject to continual review while the Mounties complete a code of conduct investigation.
The BC Prosecution Service confirms that Browning was handed a conditional discharge and placed on probation for two years during her sentencing earlier this week after pleading guilty to one count of assault in November 2022.
Browning must also complete 160 hours of community service over the first year, and a $200 “victim fine surcharge” was also imposed.
It she completes all the terms of the discharge, the service says Browning will not have a conviction or a criminal record.
Mona Wang was a nursing student at the University of B.C.’s Okanagan campus in January 2020, when she says Browning dragged her from her apartment after her boyfriend called police asking them to check on her wellbeing.
Surveillance video taken from inside an apartment building, which was disclosed as part of a civil lawsuit filed by Wang, shows the RCMP officer dragging Wang by the arms face down along a carpeted hallway, then stepping on her head in the lobby.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2023.
