THUNDER BAY -- Ontario's Independent Police Review Director says there will not be any delays with his systemic review of the Thunder Bay Police Service, despite the charges against Chief Levesque and the two new drowning cases for his office to look into.
OIPRD Director Gerry McNeilly launched his probe in the fall, due to complaints from First Nation leaders about the police force's handling of the 2015 drowning death of 41-year-old Stacey Debungee.
McNeilly says he'll be including the police files for the recent deaths of 17-year-old Tammy Keeash, and 14-year-old Josiah Begg, into his overall review. But he says that won't push back the completion date for his report, which is expected to be submitted in the fall.
McNeilly says he also hopes to continue his dealings with Levesque, despite the chief's suspension and court proceedings.
“It might be difficult for me to have an interview with the chief now, but it will not preclude me from interviewing and meeting with the rest of the executives,” McNeilly said.
“In regards to the chief, I am going to reach out to Chief Levesque to see if he will continue to volunteer to talk to me. He indicated he was going to talk to me before this incident occurred and I’m going to reach out to see if he will still do that.”
Meanwhile, McNeilly also has a pair of police conduct investigations that are nearing completion.
He says his final report into some controversial Facebook posts by several city police officers should be submitted sometime in June.
His probe into how the Debungee investigation was handled should be complete soon after that.
(TBT News)
