A Kelowna man who was shot twice by police using “non-lethal rounds” after a standoff at a construction site in West Kelowna last fall while he held a gun to his own head has been sentenced to three years in jail.
Michael Geoffrey Collins, 46, was shot twice by police after he was found holed up in a portable washroom at a construction site on Skyline Road in West Kelowna on Oct. 18. 2023. Prior to the shooting, he was reportedly seen brandishing a firearm while driving erratically in Kelowna and then seen with the gun while walking in a West Kelowna residential neighbourhood.
After the standoff, West Kelowna RCMP, with the assistance of tactical officers, were successful in getting Collins to come out of the portable washroom — where he was heard again threatening to kill himself.
He was shot in the lower leg with "non-lethal rounds" as he walked away from officers with the gun pointed to his head. The shot shattered his femur and created entry and exit wounds, according to Crown lawyer Brock Bellrichard.
Bellrichard described the shooting in court Monday during Collins's sentencing. He said while Collins lay on the ground, a police officer shot him a second time with a non-lethal round.
The injuries to Collins resulted in him having to undergo several “significant" surgeries after he contracted an infection while in police custody following the shooting. Bellrichard told the court Collins, who is now in a wheelchair, will have to learn to walk again.
A subsequent investigation by B.C.’s Independent Investigations Office cleared police officers of any wrongdoing in the shooting of Collins.
Collins pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm without a licence and contrary to a court order, as well as occupying a vehicle knowing a firearm was inside and driving while prohibited.
In accepting a joint sentencing submission, or plea deal, by the defence and Crown, Provincial Court judge Andrew Tam said the sentence imposed on Collins needed to send a strong message of denunciation and deterrence.
“This was a terrifying afternoon in Kelowna and West Kelowna. People must have been terrified,” said Tam.
While he noted Collins pleaded guilty and took responsibility for what happened, he also noted Collins's long history with firearms and drug offences.
On the day of the shooting, the Kelowna RCMP first responded to a report of gunshots fired in the 700 block of Harvey Avenue in Kelowna. A man driving a black Ford Focus sedan was then reported running red lights on Harvey Avenue and brandishing a gun while driving, then heading west over the Willian R. Bennet Bridge on Highway 97.
About 30 minutes later, West Kelowna RCMP received a call from a homeowner saying her video doorbell caught images of a man walking across her property holding a gun. That was after a report of a vehicle crashed on Olalla Road in West Kelowna and the driver leaving the scene on foot carrying a gun.
Shortly after that, police found Collins in the portable washroom on nearby Skyline Road.
In his summary of the facts of the case, Bellrichard said at no point did Collins appear to point the gun at anyone other than himself.
When asked if he had anything he wanted to say to the court, Collins, who appeared via video from the Okanagan Correctional Centre in Oliver where he is being held in custody, said: "I just want to apologize for what I did.”
In addition to the jail sentence, Collins is also banned from possessing firearms for life, must submit a DNA sample to authorities and will be prohibited from driving for five years when he is released from prison. The gun he was carrying was forfeited. Collins will receive 459 days credit for pre-trial time served.
