The disciplinary hearing of two Thunder Bay police officers in connection with the sudden death in 2015 of Stacey DeBungee, an Indigenous, ended on Friday.
For three weeks, Staff Sergeant Shawn Harrison and Sergeant Shawn Whipple, who participated in the inquest, discussed their role during the investigation into Mr. DeBungee’s death.
His body was found in the McIntyre River on the morning of Oct. 15, 2015.
However, the investigation, deemed flawed, yielded two officers cases of dereliction of duty as well as dishonorable conduct under the Police Services Act.
Shawn Harrison pleaded guilty to a dereliction of duty charge, recognizing he should have contacted private investigator David Perry with relevant information. In his research, Mr. Perry discovered that Mr. Perry’s bank card. DeBungee was used shortly after his death and he tried to pass this information on to Thunder Bay police.
He even went to the police station with Stacy DeBungee’s brother, Brad DeBungee, but Mr. Harrison, who was absent, never attempted to contact him afterwards.
This was a mistake on my partpolice confession.
He denied, however, that the fact that Mr. DeBungee is Aboriginal influenced his oversight of the investigation, so he is not guilty of allegations of dishonorable conduct.
Just hours after Stacy DeBungee’s body was discovered, the Thunder Bay Police Department released a press release stating that her death was not considered suspicious.
The next day, before the autopsy was performed, police said the death was not criminal. During the hearings, Harrison pointed out that he did not know who authorized the release of the second press release.
Constable Shawn Whipple, for his part, was not guilty of both charges, noting that he only had a secondary role in the investigation, which primarily fell to Mr. Harrison.
In closing arguments on Friday, Attorney Joël Dubois, who is acting as prosecutor, and DeBungee family attorney Asha James reiterated that in their view the two accused police officers were jump to conclusion to Mr. DeBungee, along with the presumption he drowned after drinking too much alcohol.
They also believe that the race [de M. DeBungee] is clearly a factor in the conduct of officers in this case.
During his interrogation, Mr Harrison admitted that the banks of the McIntyre River are frequented by people. most are indigenous Which are drinking all the time. He also indicated that Mr. DeBungee was introduced to him as a man of commitment some alcohol -related violations.
In his final arguments, the attorney for the two officers, David Butt, indicated that at material time, Mr. DeBungee’s death was not ruled out as a homicide, because although it may have been a possibility, there is no evidence to show this is the only possible explanation.
He also pointed out that at hearings over the last three weeks, neither Me Dubois nor Me James have been able to show specific reasons why death should clearly be treated as a homicide.
The Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) conducted a review of the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) investigation.
His report released in February 2018 exposed a series of shortcomings in the initial police investigation, showing that officers failed to follow up on witnesses and failed to pursue other leads, including a non -alleged confession. . DeBungee on the river.
The arbitrator must give his decision by the end of September.
Source: Radio-Canada
