The disciplinary hearing of two police officers who participated in the false investigation into the death of Stacy DeBungee, a Thunder Bay Aboriginal man who was found dead in a river on Oct. 15, 2015, will begin Monday.
Staff Sergeant Shawn Harrison and Sergeant Shawn Whipple are both facing charges of dereliction of duty and dishonorable conduct under the Police Services Act for their role in the investigation into Mr DeBungee’s death.
Joël Dubois, an Ottawa attorney, is acting as prosecutor, and Greg Walton, a retired Ontario Provincial Police officer, is arbitrating at the hearings.
They were chosen by the leader of TBPSSylvie Hauth, under the provincial Police Services Act which gives him this power.
Staff Sergeant Susan Kaucharik was also charged with dereliction of duty under the Police Services Act, but retired before the disciplinary hearing took place.
Mr DeBungee’s body was found in the McIntyre River on the morning of October 15, 2015.
Hours later, the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) released a press release stating that the death was not considered suspicious.
The next day, before the autopsy was performed, police said the death was not criminal.
The Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) conducted a review of the investigation TBPS.
A report released in February 2018 exposed a series of defects in the initial police investigation, saying officers had prematurely concluded that Mr DeBungee was under the influence of the substances and had fallen into the water.
The report found that officers failed to follow up on witnesses and did not follow up on other leads, including an alleged confession from a man who claimed his death. to push Mr DeBungee into the River.
Brad DeBungee, Stacy’s brother, has spent the past six years seeking justice and fighting for answers about how his brother died.
He wants officers involved in the wrong preliminary investigation responsible for what they did, so that the next person who tries to do what they do is not allowed to do it.
Asha James, the attorney representing the DeBungee family, said she hopes this case will send a message to other police investigating the deaths of the Indigenous people in Thunder Bay.
Police services are not allowed to provide one type of justice for Indigenous victims and another type of justice for non -Indigenous victims.he says.
Hearings that may not have taken place
For three weeks, the hearings will be open to the public who can attend online starting Monday, on the Thunder Bay Police Service’s Youtube account.
But the community has to put a lot of pressure to get a hearing to judge police work.
Even the OIPRD ordered the local police to conduct disciplinary hearings against the officers in 2018, the city police services board will have to decide whether to grant an extension to allow the proceedings to continue, due to the violation of six months period since the events.
Retired judge Lee Ferrier, who will make the decision on whether to extend the deadline, was first chosen to hear the parties ’arguments behind closed doors.
The DeBungee family, Rainy River First Nation and CBC/Radio-Canada appealed this decision to the courts, which ultimately led Judge Ferrier to make the hearing public.
In February 2021, after a year of legal battle, Mr. Ferrier ruled that the delay was justified and that the public had an interest in the disciplinary hearings taking place.
With information from Logan Turner of CBC
Source: Radio-Canada
