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The Mounted Police Professional Association of Canada (MPPAC), a Professor of Criminology from Carleton University and the Publisher and Managing Editor of Ottawa Life Magazine are calling for a judicial inquiry to review the conduct and decision making of the RCMP’s senior leadership before, during and after the 2005 police shootings that killed four officers in Mayerthorpe, Alta. New evidence was presented at a news conference in Ottawa showing that the Labour Canada (HRDC) investigation was not impartial.
They are also calling on the Government of Canada to not appoint a new Commissioner of the RCMP until a permanent civilian oversight body is established and operational.
This media conference follows the release of three government reports last week into bullying, harassment and failure to manage mental health issues by the RCMP management.
MPPAC spokesperson Rob Creasser, Carleton University Professor Darryl T. Davies and Dan Donovan, Publisher of Ottawa Life Magazine, raised questions about the RCMP’s response to the Mayerthorpe tragedy and reports produced in the aftermath by the RCMP and an independent investigation by Labour Canada (then known as Human Resources and Skills Development Canada).
“In recent weeks Canadians have learned about the dysfunctional management culture within the RCMP, so it is now time for a judicial inquiry to find answers to safety questions raised by the Mayerthorpe shootings that remain unaddressed, to this day,” said Creasser.
Darryl T. Davies, a professor and criminologist was hired by the RCMP after the Mayerthorpe shootings to determine whether or not the officers were properly armed. His 2010 report recommended that RCMP officers immediately be equipped with high-powered firearms (patrol carbines) and given training in their use.
Davies believes that officers’ lives would have been saved if Labour Candada had conducted an independent investigation. Instead, the Labour Canada report on the incident was plagiarized, in many sections word-for-word, from the RCMP report that cleared senior officers. Afterwards, the Labour Canada investigator was hired as a full-time civilian employee of the RCMP. Davies is convinced that an independent labour investigation after Mayerthorpe would have shown that the four constables who were killed did not have adequate body armour and fire power to protect themselves. This became a factor in later active shooter situations in Spiritwood, Sask. and Moncton, NB.
“We must ask tough questions about how front-line officer safety is managed and whether or not the RCMP is applying the lessons learned from past tragedies to prevent future police shootings and ultimately save lives,” Creasser said.
The three also said that the government should defer appointing an interim Commissioner of the RCMP until the command structure is completely revised and a new civilian oversight is established to manage the force. They said a person from outside the RCMP should be selected to oversee the force until this new civilian body is in place.
“The next generation of leadership in the RCMP must come from civilians with a new perspective and the right management experience,” Creasser said.