THUNDER BAY - Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the reinvestigation into nine sudden deaths involving Indigenous people as recommended by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, remain ongoing.
Case manager, Ken Leppert, confirmed that the investigative team remains fully committed to the reinvestigations, though the process may change slightly due to COVID-19.
“The team had spent many months conducting interviews and gathering information regarding these cases well in advance of the COVID-19 outbreak,” Leppert said. “While the outbreak may impact face-to-face interviews or meetings, it is not unusual that during the course of an investigation, communication be done by phone or electronically.”
Former Independent Police Review Director, Gerry McNeilly, released his report Broken Trust: Indigenous People and the Thunder Bay Police Service in December 2018, which found systemic racism at the institutional level in the Police Service.
As part of the 44 recommendations handed down in the report, McNeilly said nine sudden death cases should be reopened because of inadequacies in the initial investigations.
The nine cases include Christine Gliddy, Shania Bob, Marie Spence, Aaron Loon, Sarah Moonias, as well as four cases involved in the Seven Youth Inquest – Jethro Anderson, Curran Strang, Kyle Morrisseau, and Jordan Wabasse.
The reinvestigation team involves a three-tiered framework, consisting of a governance committee, an investigative resource committee, and a blended investigative team.
Last fall, Dirk Huyer, chief coroner for Ontario, said the reinvestigations should be completed by July 2020, but added they will take as much time as required.
“The team remains committed to fully re-investigating these deaths and continues to report back to the executive governance committee regularly to detail progress,” Leppert said.
The blended investigative team were back on the scene of the sudden death of 18-year-old Shania Bob in January, who was found unresponsive in a Victoria Avenue residence in 2014.
That month they were also back on the scene of the death of Aaron Loon, whose body was found on March 25, 2015 on a pathway near North Junot Avenue.
Leppert could not provide comment on the status of any of the reinvestigations.
“As these investigations are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to provide details of any findings at this time,” he said.
