THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Police Service Board remains confident in police chief J.P. Levesque and will not be asking for his resignation following calls from First Nation leaders for the chief to be removed.
“The board respects the right of anybody at any time to call for anybody’s resignation,” said Thunder Bay Police Service Board chair, Jackie Dojack. “The board is not going to ask for J.P. Levesque to resign.”
The statement comes two weeks after the release of a report by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIRPD) that substantiated allegations of misconduct in how investigators with Thunder Bay Police handled the investigation into the death 41-year-old Stacy DeBungee.
When the report was made public, First Nation leaders, including Rainy River First Nation chief, Robin McGinnis and Nishnawbe Aski Nation grand chief, Alvin Fiddler, called for Levesque’s resignation.
“If he refuses to resign, I am calling for the (Police Services Board) to fire him,” said Rainy River First Nation chief, Rob McGinnis during a media conference in Thunder Bay on Mar. 5. “He is the one that is in control of the police force, or he isn’t in control and is incompetent, or he refuses to change. Either way, he needs to go.”
The conduct report into the DeBungee investigation found investigating officers prematurely ruled his death to be non-criminal.
DeBungee’s body was found in the McIntyre River on Oct. 19, 2015 and police ruled his death to be non-criminal shortly after. An investigation by the OIPRD into the investigation was launched in September, 2016.
Following the release of the conduct report earlier this month, the OIPRD said it will prepare a submission to direct the Thunder Bay Police chief to bring an application forward regarding the affected officers to the Thunder Bay Police Services Board to permit a notice of hearing under the Police Services Act.
Dojack said the OIPRD has asked for an extension for the hearings to be called.
“We will be discussing that in the future,” she said. “That is still in process and I can’t say anymore.”
