Chair-Initiated Complaint into the Shooting Death of Kevin St. Arnaud in Vanderhoof, British Columbia and into the Adequacy of the Subsequent RCMP Investigation
Introduction
There has been an ongoing expression of concern by members of the public concerning the ability of the police generally to impartially investigate serious allegations of wrongdoing by fellow police officers. These expressions of concern also touch the RCMP, which is Canada's largest police service and which provides policing for the greater portion of the residents of British Columbia.
In recognition of this serious concern, the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (the Commission) will on occasion exercise its authority on behalf of the public, to examine in depth the facts that give rise to the public's concern as well as the adequacy of the RCMP's investigation of the events in question. This report examines one of the most serious incidents that can engage the public's attention; the use of force by a police officer that results in the death of an individual. The Commission has previously examined and publically released a report together with numerous recommendations dealing with a police shooting that resulted in the death of Mr. Ian Bush.1
Both the death of Mr. Kevin St. Arnaud and the subsequent investigation of the circumstances that led to his death took place prior to the release of the Commission's Final Report concerning the death of Mr. Ian Bush together with its recommendations as to the best practices to follow in such member-involved shootings. For reasons that will be more fulsomely described below, the RCMP's investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. St. Arnaud fell below an acceptable standard and will, accordingly, leave members of the public with a sense of disquiet as to the ability of the police to ensure that such events are investigated with the level of professionalism that the public has rightly come to expect.
Application in practice of the principles that constitute the Major Case Management Model and adoption and implementation of the recommendations found in the Commission's report in respect of the death of Mr. Ian Bush would be a good point of departure for the RCMP as it seeks to restore and maintain the public's confidence in this sensitive area.
1 File No. PC-2006-1532. See website: Final Report on Chair-Initiated Complaint into the Shooting Death of Ian Bush.