THUNDER BAY – City police currently have no intentions of publicly releasing the OPP review of their investigation into the death of Stacy DeBungee.
The body of the 41-year-old DeBungee was found in the McIntyre River on the morning of Oct. 19, 2015. Later the same day, before the identity of the body was released, the Thunder Bay Police Service issued a statement that the initial investigation determined the death was not suspicious.
Indigenous leaders criticized the Thunder Bay police, accusing the service of not conducting an adequate investigation. The city police service’s handling of the case spurred a review from the Office of the Independent Police Review Director over whether there is systemic racism within the force and their policies and procedures related to Indigenous death investigations.
The OPP began their probe into the Thunder Bay police investigation in February, at the request of then-city police chief J.P. Levesque. The report was received by Thunder Bay police on May 15.
Const. Julie Tilbury on Friday said acting police chief Sylvie Hauth received confirmation from the OIPRD that the document can be released publicly, but the police service has no intention of doing so at this time.
“Given the fact that the DeBungee death investigation is still a part of a public complaint under the Police Services Act and is before the OIPRD as part of the systemic review, the OPP report will not be made public at this time,” Tilbury said.
“Additionally, the DeBungee family has not yet been reached to provide an update of this review process. This incident is also still an ongoing investigation.
