Officer who led flawed investigation into Ojibway man's 2015 death in Thunder Bay, Ont., demoted for 18 months

Officer who led flawed investigation into Ojibway man's 2015 death in Thunder Bay, Ont., demoted for 18 months
Officer who led flawed investigation into Ojibway man's 2015 death in Thunder Bay, Ont., demoted for 18 months

Arabnews24.ca:Friday 3 February 2023 02:17 PM: The Thunder Bay, Ont., police officer who led the flawed investigation into Ojibway man Stacey DeBungee's death in 2015 will be demoted one rank for 18 months and must take mandatory Indigenous cultural competency training. 

On Friday, Greg Walton, the officer who presided over the misconduct hearing, ruled Staff Sgt. Shawn Harrison of the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) would be demoted from staff sergeant to sergeant for 18 months, and must enrol in the training. If at the end of that time his disciplinary record remains clear, he will be returned to the rank of staff sergeant. 

Harrison was found guilty last summer of one count of neglect of duty and one count of discreditable conduct under Ontario's Police Services Act relating to the death investigation. 

DeBungee, 41, from Rainy River First Nation in northwestern Ontario, died in October 2015. His body was found in the McIntyre River in Thunder Bay on Oct. 19 that year.

Within three hours of the discovery of DeBungee's body, police had issued a news release that said the initial investigation did not indicate the case was a suspicious death, even though the body had yet to be positively identified and an autopsy had not yet been conducted.

A second news release was issued the next day, deeming the death to be "non-criminal."

Family wanted officer fired

The family hired a private investigator, who found DeBungee's debit card was used after his death, and interviewed witnesses who were not part of the police investigation. Officers refused to meet with the investigator.

A complaint was filed to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD), which reviewed the initial Thunder Bay police investigation and released a report in 2018 outlining its deficiencies.

The prosecution, representing the TBPS, had requested a two-year demotion, from staff sergeant to constable for the first year, and then after that, a promotion to sergeant before becoming staff sergeant again. 

Lawyers representing DeBungee's family argued Harrison should be fired from the police service. 

Harrison's defence lawyers asked for a demotion of one rank for three to six months. 

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