Alberta watchdog reviewing Newfoundland police investigation of shooting death
原始发布日期： 2016-01-31 发布者：李方
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Alberta watchdog reviewing Newfoundland police investigation of high-profile shooting death
Alberta’s police watchdog has been called to Newfoundland and Labrador to review the RCMP’s investigation into a high-profile shooting death that will be at the centre of a public inquiry.
Don Dunphy was shot to death at his home in the spring of 2015 by a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer investigating perceived threats the man had reportedly made against politicians on Twitter.
According to Mounties, the officer shot Dunphy after the man pointed a rifle at him. Few details surrounding exactly what happened inside the man’s home have emerged, but RCMP said they recovered a loaded .22-calibre rifle on the floor near Dunphy’s body.
Mounties recently wrapped up their criminal investigation of the case, but they have not released their conclusions, pending a third-party review.
Newfoundland Justice Minister Andrew Parsons said Sunday he has commissioned the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), a police watchdog agency, “to conduct an independent and impartial review of the RCMP investigation.”
The review comes as ASIRT manages a long list of unresolved cases in Alberta, including the police shooting death of 27-year-old Anthony Heffernan in his Calgary motel, and a police shooting in Lethbridge that injured a 17-year-old boy.
Among other unresolved cases, the watchdog has not released the outcome of its probe into allegations Calgary police mishandled the disappearance of Colton Crowshoe, who was found dead.
Efforts to reach ASIRT, which investigates police incidents resulting in serious injury or death, were unsuccessful Sunday afternoon.
Parsons’ request is not unprecedented. ASIRT has been called outside of Alberta to assist with investigations in the past. In July 2014, for instance, the Manitoba government asked the agency to investigate an officer-involved shooting in a remote northern community.
In a letter to Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley, Parsons wrote he wanted the review of Dunphy’s death to confirm whether the RCMP investigated the shooting “in a manner that would maintain public confidence in policing in NL.”
“We would expect that the investigation be carefully scrutinized for evidence of investigative bias, tunnel vision and/or lack of objectivity,” Parsons wrote in the letter, posted on the Newfoundland government’s website.
Ganley accepted his request.
“Given the very serious nature and sensitivity of this situation it is imperative that all parties seek to achieve a timely resolution,” Parsons, who has promised a public inquiry into the shooting, said in a statement.
