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SIU to investigate 2015 death that was included in OIPRD Broken Trust report

The Special Investigations Unit was contacted by the Office of the Chief Coroner to investigate the circumstances surrounding the 2015 death of Aaron Loon, who is part of the OIPRD recommendation to reinvestigate nine sudden deaths involving Indigenous people.
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THUNDER BAY - The Special Investigations Unit has been called upon to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a 20-year-old Indigenous man in the city of Thunder Bay that is also subject to a reinvestigation as recommended by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.

The SIU was contacted by the Office of the Chief Coroner on Jan. 18, 2022 to launch an investigation into the 2015 death of Aaron Loon.

The Office of the Chief Coroner is part of the Executive Governance Committee that is responsible for the reinvestigation into nine sudden deaths involving Indigenous people in the city of Thunder Bay.

The reinvestigations were part of Gerry McNeilly’s report Broken Trust: Indigenous People and the Thunder Bay Police Service that was released in 2018 and found systemic racism in the Thunder Bay Police Service at an institutional level. According to the report, the initial sudden death investigations conducted by the Thunder Bay Police Service were problematic, deficient, and inadequate.

A report into the reinvestigations is expected to be released later this spring after several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the nature of the investigations. It may be delayed further in order to include the findings of the SIU, which usually seeks to complete investigations within a 120 day timeline. 

According to the original OIPRD report, Loon’s body was discovered on the morning of March 25, 2015 on a pathway near North Junot Park. First responders reported that it looked like he may have been in a fight.

The coroner indicated that Loon had several abrasions on his body that could have been the result of a fall.

Police canvased the area for information and the scene was released later that day. The pathologist advised police that there were no signs of foul play or trauma and the cause of death was listed as hypothermia.

An individual who was with Loon the night of March 24 called the Thunder Bay Police Service just before 11 p.m. indicating that Loon was intoxicated and yelling in Junot Park.

The individual was interviewed by police in April 2015 and he described Loon as acting rowdy and running around the trail without a shirt. The individual also said he called police because Loon was out of control and then left the area with a friend. No alcohol was left with Loon and the individual said he did not believe Loon would have passed out.  

McNeilly concluded the investigation by the Thunder Bay Police Service failed to have a complete understanding of how Loon sustained his injuries, did not properly process the scene, and failed to follow investigative leads.

“This is but one of a number of cases in which an Indigenous person was presumed by TBPS to have died suddenly as a result of hypothermia or drowning,” McNeilly wrote.

“In a number of these cases, police failed to recognize that findings of hypothermia or drowning did not relieve them of their obligation to determine the circumstances under which these individuals froze to death or drowned, including the role, if any, played by others in contributing to their deaths.”

The incident involving the individual contacting the police on the night of March 24 is included in the preliminary information presented in the SIU media release, which was also highlighted in McNeilly’s report.

“Regarding the [Loon] investigation, it was deeply troubling that police were called by [an individual] at 10:53 p.m. on the evening [Mr. Loon] was last seen alive,” McNeilly wrote.

“[The individual] stated that [Mr. Loon] was being left alone in Junot Park and that he was intoxicated and needed to be checked on. The investigative file contained no information as to how this call, if at all, was responded to.”

The Broken Trust report goes on to say that the Thunder Bay Police Service said at the time that the call was logged as being of a lower priority because it came through the mainline and had limited details.

“It was felt that there was no indication of public safety issues or immediate danger to [Mr. Loon]. So the call went unanswered for some time, as priority calls kept coming in,” McNeilly wrote.

“At some point in the night, a cruiser drove by Junot Park and nobody was observed. This was reported back to dispatch and the car was cleared to leave.”

The OIPRD was advised that the Police Service has taken steps to address the inadequate response to the call from the night of March 24, leading to a change in policy as to how those calls are dealt with.

The SIU has assigned two investigators to the case. Anyone with information that could assist in this investigation is asked to contact the SIU at 1-800-787-8529 or online at https://siu.on.ca/en/appeals.php.

The SIU is called upon to investigate when an interaction involving police results in death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person, or allegations of sexual assault.



Doug Diaczuk

About the Author: Doug Diaczuk

Doug Diaczuk is a reporter and award-winning author from Thunder Bay. He has a master’s degree in English from Lakehead University
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