The fallout continues this week after a body that oversees complaints against RCMP investigations released a blockbuster report on how Mounties failed Colten Boushie’s family in the aftermath of his murder five years ago.
The 22-year-old man from Red Pheasant Cree Nation was shot and killed by Biggar-area farmer Gerald Stanley in August 2016.
The case went to trial in the winter of 2018 and Stanley was acquitted of all charges including manslaughter.
Stanley’s treatment by the RCMP compared to that of the Boushie family and the eventual not guilty verdict led to accusations of systemic racism within the RCMP and justice system preventing a fair and impartial investigation and verdict.
The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission final report into the investigation confirms a number of these allegations.
The CRCC report outlines how RCMP officers involved in the case treated Boushie’s mother Debbie Baptiste in a racist fashion and showed little sensitivity or empathy toward her even though they were delivering the news that Boushie had just been killed at the hands of a gunman.
Instead, Mounties immediately treated Baptiste as a person of interest in the investigation even though they possessed no actual evidence to do so.
They searched her home, without a warrant, believing she may be harboring one of the suspects and officers even had the audacity to question her sobriety by asking to smell Baptiste’s breath.
A line of questioning by officers also seemed to indicate they believed Baptiste knew more about events leading up to the incident than she was letting on.
When Baptiste told Mounties she knew little about Boushie’s whereabouts but had been expecting him home for supper, one officer checked the microwave to see if she was telling the truth.
The CRCC also notes further insensitivity was displayed by the force toward the family when two officers showed up at Boushie’s wake service to update them on the investigation.
At the same time while RCMP officers were focusing their investigative efforts on the Boushie family, the CRCC report finds Mounties were wasting valuable time securing evidence against Stanley.
The crime scene itself was not properly secured leading to valuable evidence getting damaged and it took days for the RCMP to obtain a warrant to search Stanley’s property.
At a media conference in Saskatoon on Monday, members and representatives of the Boushie family, the Assembly of First Nations and Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations expressed frustration and anger about the CRCC report and its contents.
“In this report, there are so many mistakes the RCMP have made,” AFN Chief Perry Bellegarde said.
Speaking directly to the Boushie family, he added, “We know there was no compassion shown to you. We know there was no respect shown to you. There’s no caring, there’s no kindness shown. There was a missed opportunity here by the RCMP to build a respectful relationship. And it was indeed missed.”
FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron did not mince his words when speaking about the CRCC report.
“This whole justice system from top down needs to be restored,” he said. “From the judges, the Crown prosecutors, the RCMP to the correctional services officers.”
Cameron further challenged RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki to terminate the officers involved as a way of showing Indigenous Canada the force takes the report seriously.
“What are you going to do rather than say we agree with what’s been found? Big deal. Brenda Lucki do something.”
In a public statement, the RCMP has said it agrees with many of the CRCC’s findings and Lucki has admitted there is racism in the force.
Eleanore Sunchild is one of the lawyers representing the Boushie family.
She said the RCMP’s treatment of Debbie Baptiste, as outlined in the CRCC report, was disgusting.
“They went into her trailer without a warrant,” she said. “They searched her house, illegally. When she fell to the floor, after they told her that her son was dead, they had the nerve to smell her breath. They told her to, ‘get it together.’ And they even checked the microwave, where she had put her son’s dinner, to make sure she was telling the truth. If that doesn’t speak to discrimination and racism, I don’t know what does.”
Based on the report’s findings, both the AFN and FSIN are suggesting the RCMP adopt a number of changes.
These changes include zero tolerance for excessive use of force, use of officer body cameras and de-escalation training.
The two organizations also say misconception cross-cultural training is needed, along with better recruitment processes at the RCMP Depot in Regina to screen out applicants with racial bias and prejudice, promotion of more Indigenous officers into positions of authority and further strengthening of civilian oversight.
It has never been entirely clear why Boushie and four others entered Stanley’s farm in a vehicle on Aug. 9, 2016.
According to police reports, the Ford Escape they were driving had a flat tire and they were looking to change it.
Stanley told both police and court he believed the group was going to rob him and this is why he ran and got a gun.
Although there was a firearm on the floor of the vehicle, Boushie was unarmed when Stanley shot and killed him.
(PHOTO: Colten Boushie. File photo.)