North Van motorcyclist charged in hit-and-run on cop

A North Vancouver man is now facing charges following an alleged hit-and-run that left a North Vancouver RCMP officer with a traumatic brain injury.

On February 9, police asked for witnesses to come forward after motorcyclist clipped an officer who was trying to flag him down on Highway 1 at Westview.

“(The officer) spent more than a month off work," said Sgt. Peter DeVries, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman. "He wasn't allowed to look at any screens for quite a while. No TV, no cellphones. He couldn't do any strenuous exercise and he had to be monitored closely."

On May 10, the Crown swore one count of obstructing a peace officer and one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle against 27-year-old Mark Daniel Webber.

“We had help from the public, for sure, but our investigators also did some really good background work on finding out who this person was. A lot of that was done through social media,” DeVries said, though he added he couldn’t explain exactly how that was done without jeopardizing the court case.

The injured officer is back on the job on a part-time basis and is expected to make a full return to active duty in the coming months, DeVries said.

“Overall, we feel resolve to continue putting ourselves in harm’s way in order to make sure people are safe and protected. We know that this comes as part of the job,” he added.