Thunder Bay – NEWS – Three Thunder Bay Police officers are facing a disciplinary hearing which will be held on August 16, 2021 in connection to the death of Stacy DeBungee.
Sergeant Shawn Whipple and Staff Sergeants Shawn Harrison along with Susan Kaucharik are facing Police Services Act charges for allegedly failing to perform their duties properly according to the Police Services Act.
The hearing was ordered in February 2021, when by Adjudicator Lee Ferrier made the determination, citing that his decision is just one part of the much larger controversy involving the policing of Indigenous people in Thunder Bay by the Thunder Bay Police Service.
Ferrier stated that is an issue of addressing serious police misconduct and it is in the public interest for the matter to go forward.
The initial investigation into the October 2015 death of the 41-year-old man from Rainy River First Nation in Treaty #3 territory, Thunder Bay Police determined that the death was not a result of any criminal activity and made that decision in 24-hours of the discovery of his body.
This incident was included in the Broken Trust report as one of the failure of the Thunder Bay Police Service to properly investigate cases involving Indigenous people.
Thunder Bay Police Service has been making a number of changes to follow up on the recommendations in the Broken Trust Report.
