New Brunswick RCMP dispute 'wellness check' description in Elsipogtog shooting
Mounties won't offer more information about call
New Brunswick RCMP are disputing that a call resulting in the shooting death of a 34-year-old Elsipogtog First Nation man was a "wellness check."
Steve (Iggy) Dedam was shot by an RCMP officer Sept. 8 in the community north of Moncton.
Dedam's family have told media that police were called for a wellness check, a characterization the agency investigating the shooting had agreed with Thursday.
But it's a characterization the RCMP say, without offering further explanation, is wrong.
Assistant Commissioner DeAnna Hill, the New Brunswick RCMP's commanding officer, issued a statement Thursday "to clarify that information circulating that this call was a wellness check is inaccurate."
The RCMP said on Friday they wouldn't answer questions about why that description is inaccurate, how the Mounties define a wellness check, or how a wellness check differs from the call received Sunday that Hill described as being about "a suicidal male armed with a weapon."
"Out of respect for the integrity of the independent review, the NB RCMP will not provide any additional comments or explanations related to the ongoing investigation," Cpl. Hans Ouellette, a spokesperson for the force, said in an email.
On Monday, RCMP directed various questions to the Serious Incident Response Team, which is investigating whether the officer's actions were a crime.
Erin Nauss, the agency's director, was asked Thursday whether the initial call could be described as a wellness check.
"That's what we understand from the information that we've received as well, is that the RCMP were responding to what they call a wellness check, yes," Nauss said.
On Friday, Nauss said she now knows RCMP do not consider it a wellness check.
"I can't speak to RCMP policy and terminology, but I do understand from the RCMP, and their statement as well, that's not what they call a wellness check," Nauss said.
Wellness checks generally refer to when police are called by someone with concerns about a person. It's unclear who called the police about Dedam.
Statement details vary
Statements issued by SIRT and the RCMP since Sunday have varied in the details given, such as whether Dedam had more than one weapon.
The first news release from SIRT said that initial information suggests officers were approached by a man carrying "weapons," though the RCMP news release issued shortly after said he had a "weapon."
The initial RCMP release said the man was reportedly in "mental distress," but the commanding officer's statement Thursday describes him as "suicidal."
The RCMP's first news release makes no reference to the use of a Taser, though the SIRT release says one of the two responding officers attempted to use the less-lethal weapon.
The SIRT news release said when the Taser wasn't effective, a second officer shot the man.
Chantel Moore, left, and Rodney Levi were shot and killed in separate police shootings in June 2020. (CBC)
Dedam is the third Indigenous person shot and killed by a police officer in New Brunswick in four years.
The deaths of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi, in June 2020, during wellness checks led to protests and calls for an inquiry into systemic racism in the justice system. The provincial government did not call that inquiry. The call for an inquiry arose again this week after Dedam's death.
The year Levi and Moore died saw wellness checks, and whether police should carry them out, come under increased scrutiny.
In July 2020, the independent watchdog for the RCMP said it frequently had concerns about Mounties' "unreasonable use of force" during mental health wellness calls.
The chair of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission said in a statement that its findings have highlighted concerns about an authoritative style of dealing with a non‑compliant person.
The statement from Michelaine Lahaie said the commission understands it is sometimes necessary for police to answer calls about people in crisis, but said mental health professionals should lead the response with police in a supporting role.
A 2021 report on systemic racism in policing, by the House of Commons' public safety committee, touched on wellness checks. It recommended the commission carry out a review of RCMP policies and practices, such as wellness checks, and develop a timeline for changes "to end police violence and ensure the safety and security of those in need of mental health support."
A 2022 report by the commission said the Mounties lacked a national policy on wellness checks, "leading to concerns that they might not be carried out in a consistent and reasonable manner."
It recommended the policy address whether the RCMP is the correct resource to conduct wellness checks, whether one is actually required, and how to conduct it.
The RCMP agreed with the finding and said a policy was under development. The RCMP's website suggests it implemented the commission's recommendation in early 2023.
CBC requested information from the RCMP about the implementation of the recommendation.
In a statement sent late Friday, the RCMP said a policy has been in place, but offered no specifics about it.
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Statement from the Commanding Officer of J Division regarding a recent shooting incident in Elsipogtog, N.B.
September 12, 2024
Fredericton, New Brunswick
On September 8th, 2024, the New Brunswick RCMP were dispatched to a 911 call for service involving a suicidal male armed with a weapon at a residence in Elsipogtog.
I want to clarify that information circulating that this call was a wellness check is inaccurate.
I am deeply committed to transparency and accountability to the public and, as such, this incident was referred to the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) at the earliest opportunity.
At this juncture, I am focussed on fully cooperating with the SIRT investigation. I am also focussed on ensuring public safety in the community of Elsipogtog, supporting the community as they face their loss, and supporting our police officers and employees who are heavily impacted by this incident as well.
The New Brunswick RCMP is fully cooperating with the investigation, respects the integrity of this review and will not provide any additional comments on the ongoing investigation.
Thank you,
DeAnna
Assistant Commissioner DeAnna L. Hill, O.O.M.
J Division Commanding Officer
New Brunswick RCMP requests SIRT to investigate shooting incident involving police, Elsipogtog, N.B.
September 9, 2024
Elsipogtog, N.B., New Brunswick
The New Brunswick RCMP has requested the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT), an independent agency, to review police actions following a shooting incident involving RCMP members in Elsipogtog, N.B.
On September 8, 2024, at approximately 11:19 p.m., members from the Elsipotog RCMP Detachment responded to a report of a man in mental distress with a weapon at a residence on Graham Road in Elsipogtog. During the response, the man refused to drop his weapon and would not cooperate with police. As the situation evolved, a member discharged their firearm at the man. First aid was immediately administered on the scene and the man was taken to hospital, where he later died.
The New Brunswick RCMP is committed to being accountable and transparent to the communities it serves, and has referred the incident to SiRT for an independent investigation.
The investigation is ongoing.
Contact information
Cpl. Hans Ouellette
RCMP New Brunswick
506-452-4252
rcmpnb.grcnb@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Family challenges RCMP statement after Mi'kmaw man shot and killed during wellness check
Elsipogtog team to assist RCMP on wellness checks not called until after shooting
The family of a Mi'kmaw man killed by police Sunday in Elsipogtog First Nation say officers used excessive force when they should have been trying to help him.
Steven "Iggy" Dedam, a 34-year-old father and fisherman, was shot and killed by an RCMP officer during a wellness check in the community about 55 kilometres north of Moncton.
"He loved gatherings with his family and his friends," said his sister Amber Joseph.
"He loved his son; he loved spending time with his son and he was very outgoing, loved everyone."
Dedam's family, some of them witnesses to the incident on Sunday evening, say there are inaccuracies and omissions in the RCMP statement from Monday afternoon.
The RCMP statement said officers from the Elsipogtog detachment responded to a call around 11:19 p.m. about a man in mental distress with a weapon at a residence in the community. RCMP said the man refused to drop his weapon and a member shot their gun at the man. RCMP said first aid was immediately administered and the man was taken to hospital where he later died.
A statement Monday from the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), the agency that is investigating the shooting, said one officer attempted to Tase the man "but it was ineffective" and the other officer shot the man.
Joseph and Dedam's brother Samuel were on the phone with Dedam as the incident unfolded and arrived just after they heard the shots.
"He was Tased and shot three times," she said.
"After he was Tased, they didn't even give time for the Taser to work. It was Tase, shot, shot shot."
They said the RCMP's statement did not reflect that RCMP were called to the home for a wellness check, and that the statement should have indicated how many times Dedam was shot. The family also challenges the statement's claim that first aid was administered immediately.
"It wasn't administered right away as they say it," said Samuel Dedam.
"It took them like maybe 10-20 minutes to actually put pressure to his wounds."
Cpl. Hans Ouellette, spokesperson for New Brunswick RCMP, referred CBC Indigenous to the statement and directed any questions to SIRT.
SIRT director Erin Nauss confirmed initial evidence indicates there were three shots fired, and that from the information they have received the RCMP were responding to "what they call a wellness check." The investigation is ongoing.
Wellness check team called after shooting
Hayley Sock, the partner of Dedam's brother Samuel, said at the hospital they weren't allowed to to say goodbye.
"He died alone with the cops," she said.
"We deserve to hug him, kiss him, say our last goodbye and they didn't even want to give us that. Instead, he died surrounded by ... seemed like 50 cops in there, when he should have been surrounded by us."
Kopit Lodge, an Elsipogtog-based advocacy organization, oversees the Indige Watch project to assist and accompany RCMP in wellness checks in the community.
In a joint statement, Kopit Lodge and Indige Watch said they received a call from RCMP at 11:40 p.m. to assist, when the events that took Dedam's life had already transpired.
The statement said the RCMP's failure to communicate to Indige Watch that they were performing a wellness check "was not in the good spirit of working collaboratively."
In previous meetings, "Indige Watch made it clear that they want to be involved in nearly every aspect of RCMP calls that relate to our people who are in distress," said the statement.
Signs and memorials are spread throughout Elsipogtog, like this one on the RCMP detachment's door. (Sis'moqon/CBC)
Elsipogtog First Nation administrator Bo Augustine said the community is in shock and anger but is coming together to provide support. There is a community-led sacred fire at the RCMP detachment, the community centre is a drop-in site and the youth access centre is having sweat lodges daily.
He said mental wellness teams are also checking up on individuals who might have been close to the incident.
Augustine added there are conversations happening about next steps for the community, especially around essential services like policing and who should deliver these services.
"How many people is our community going to lose before we start to see something change?" he said.
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Sadness, anger and questions follow RCMP shooting of Elsipogtog man
Mi'kmaw lawyer, law enforcement researcher see parallels with cases of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi
A Mi'kmaw lawyer and researcher says she is sad and angry after police shot and killed a man in Elsipogtog last weekend.
"It hits you right in the gut," said Pam Palmater, who is from Ugpi'Ganjig First Nation, also known as Eel River Bar, and a professor and chair in Indigenous governance at Toronto Metropolitan University.
It's devastating for the family and the community, she said, and frustrating because of previous similar incidents.
"The rest of the world thinks that things are getting better on the Indigenous front. … But in fact, when it comes to things that cause our death … substandard health care, putting our kids into foster care, where they're abused or they'll die, or shootings — killings — by law enforcement, that's still happening at the same rate and in some years much higher," said Palmater.
A release from the Serious Incident Response Team said based on preliminary information, officers had been called to a home late Sunday night because a man was allegedly threatening to harm himself.
"Two officers responded and were approached by a male carrying weapons," said the release.
One officer tried to use a Taser on the man, but it didn't work, and the man was then shot by another officer on the scene, it said.
Palmater said it's problematic to assume that because police were involved, there must have been criminality.
She drew parallels to two other deaths of Indigenous people at the hands of police in New Brunswick a few years ago.
Chantel Moore, 26, and Rodney Levi, 48, were shot and killed by police in New Brunswick eight days apart. (CBC)
Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi were both fatally shot by police officers in June 2020.
"There is a common factor here that we cannot ignore," said Michael Boudreau, a criminologist at St. Thomas University in Fredericton.
One of the important recommendations after inquests into the deaths of Moore and Levi was that people from local Indigenous communities should be included in responding to emergency calls in which mental health is a suspected factor, he said.
In Elsipogtog, a group called Indige-Watch launched last year, offering this type of support, as well as other services.
Boudreau wondered whether the RCMP notified Indige-Watch on Sunday night and if not, why not.
"Clearly this is not working," he said.
Criminologist
Michael Boudreau of St. Thomas University says an important
recommendation after the death of Chantel Moore was to involve
Indigenous responders in wellness checks. (Jon Collicott/CBC)
More resources and closer working relationships between police and First Nations may be needed, he said.
He also wondered what efforts police made to try to de-escalate the situation, whether anyone else was at risk and what kind of a weapon the individual who was shot had.
He said he hopes the Serious Incident Response Team, which is investigating, will reach out to the community to get perspectives on how something like this can be prevented in the future.
The presence of "an arbiter of violence," is crucial, said Palmater.
"There's got to be people who intervene and say, 'Look, we need to provide support for him,'" she said.
A long list of reports have found anti-Indigenous racism is widespread within law enforcement, said Palmater.
Information Morning - Moncton 12:20She would like to see an inquiry into the RCMP as well as a provincial inquiry into anti-First Nation racism in policing in New Brunswick.
An inquiry would be able to find out, for example, how many times complaints have been made against particular officers for things like violence or sexual harassment without them facing consequences, she said.
"Then we could make evidence based recommendations and shine a light on who is responsible and who needs to do what," she said.
Information Morning - Moncton 8:35Corrections
- An earlier version of this story said an RCMP news release had police responding to a man threatening to harm himself. In fact, the source of that information was a release from the Serious Incident Response Team.Sep 13, 2024 6:40 AM AT
With files from Information Morning Moncton and Fredericton
Police watchdog investigating after Mi'kmaw man killed by RCMP at Elsipogtog First Nation
Elsipogtog First Nation calls for thorough investigation of incident
A Mi'kmaw man was shot and killed by police late Sunday night on the Elsipogtog First Nation, about 55 kilometres north of Moncton.
A
statement from the First Nation said the band sent its condolences to
the man's family and the entire community. It said immediate action is
being taken.
"We are doing our best to gather information and understand what transpired," the statement said.
"We are doing everything in our power to ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted and that proper justice is served."
The statement said that though residents may notice an increased RCMP presence, the officer involved in the incident has been removed from the community.
The statement urged anyone with information or who witnessed the incident to contact Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), which is investigating.
The Serious Incident Reponse Team is a civilian-led police oversight agency that investigates incidents that stem from police actions, including death, serious injury, and sexual assault. It has an agreement with the New Brunswick government to investigate serious incidents involving the police in New Brunswick.
A statement from SIRT said RCMP were called about a man threatening to hurt himself. Two RCMP officers responded and were approached by a man carrying weapons.
The SIRT statement said one officer attempted to Tase the man "but it was ineffective" and the other officer shot the man, who was declared dead soon after.
Community members set up a fire outside the Elsipogtog RCMP station Monday for people to share prayers and come together to drum and sing to remember the man.
A statement from RCMP published Monday afternoon said officers from the Elsipogtog detachment responded to a call around 11:19 p.m. about a man in mental distress with a weapon at a residence in the community.
The statement said the man refused to drop his weapon and a member shot their gun at the man. The statement said first aid was immediately administered and the man was taken to hospital where he later died.
Cpl. Hans Ouellette, spokesperson for New Brunswick RCMP, said the member's status with the organization is currently under review and they are being supported by the RCMP's health services office.
This marks the third fatal shooting of a First Nations person by police in New Brunswick in under five years.
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Lawsuit alleges RCMP failures in shooting death of Rodney Levi
Family suing after police fatally shot 48-year-old in June 2020
Rodney Levi's family allege in a lawsuit that failures by the RCMP led to his 2020 death, allegations the federal government rejects in a recent court filing which calls for the case to be thrown out.
The lawsuit, filed last year, claims the police force failed to adequately train and equip its officers.
Levi, of the Metepenagiag Mi'kmaq Nation, was shot twice in the chest by RCMP Const. Scott Hait on June 12, 2020, at a home about 15 kilometres west of Miramichi.
Witnesses at a coroner's inquest in 2021 testified the 48-year-old had two kitchen knives that he wouldn't release, even after being Tasered three times by Const. Justin Napke. The officers testified Levi moved toward Hait, who then shot Levi while the two were a few feet apart.
Levi's daughter, Shalisa Augustine, filed the lawsuit on behalf of 12 family members.
Claim alleges policies weren't followed
The lawsuit alleges RCMP had a duty of care and failed to provide adequate training on de-escalation, use of force,and appropriate responses to mental health crises and the needs of Indigenous people.
"The Defendants, Constable Hait and Constable Napke, failed to follow established policies, practices, and operational protocols, including with respect to clearing the scene, positioning, proximity to Mr. Levi, and the paramount principle of the protection and preservation of life," the statement of claim filed June 10 alleges.
The case seeks an unspecified amount of money.
The lawsuit's claims have not been proven in court.
Defendants deny claims
The RCMP, represented by the Attorney General of Canada, deny the claims in a statement of defence filed Feb. 15.
It says Const. "Hait was acting in the course and scope of his duties as a peace officer and believed, on reasonable grounds, that the force used was necessary to protect himself and others from grievous bodily harm or death."
It goes on to deny negligence, saying RCMP officers were provided with appropriate instruction, training and support.
The statement of defence asks for the lawsuit to be dismissed.
Levi had gone to pastor Brodie MacLeod's home on Boom Road where a family dinner was taking place on a deck.
The inquest has heard he appeared to be acting strange and had two kitchen knives in his hoodie pocket. Residents of the home, worried about Levi, called police .
When Hait arrived, he said the situation appeared calm and he tried to talk to Levi to persuade him to give up the knives, but he wouldn't. Hait testified Levi said he was suicidal, so the officer told Levi he would take him into custody under the province's Mental Health Act.
The inquest heard Hait and Levi were less than 10 feet (about three metres) apart on the deck. Hait had his back to a house wall.
An expert on police use-of-force training and policies testified at the inquest that Hait and Napke should have cleared other people from the deck to protect them and that Hait was too close to Levi to use anything but his firearm.
Inquests are quasi-judicial proceedings that don't assign blame, but are meant to find ways to avoid similar deaths in the future.
A criminal investigation into the officers' actions concluded in 2021 without charges. Prosecutors determined the officers were acting lawfully to protect the residents of the home.
Chantel Moore, 26, was shot and killed by police during a wellness check in Edmundston on June 4, 2020. (Chantel Moore/Facebook)
Levi's death came days after a police officer in Edmundston shot and killed 26-year-old Chantel Moore.
The deaths of the two Indigenous people in New Brunswick sparked calls for justice by First Nations communities in the province and across Canada. They also led to calls for an inquiry into systemic racism in the New Brunswick justice system.
Moore's family is suing the City of Edmundston, alleging it failed to adequately train and equip its police force.
CBC requested comment from the federal justice department about the Levi lawsuit. It directed the request to RCMP headquarters in Ottawa. Robin Percival, a spokesperson for the RCMP, said it doesn't comment on ongoing civil cases.
Alisa Lombard, the lawyer representing Levi's family in the case, said they have no comment at this time.
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Deseronto (Head Office)
136A Bayshore Road
Deseronto, ON, K0K 1X0
613-914-0823
613-914-7726
Fax: 613-900-1687
info@lombardlaw.ca
New Brunswick
356 Big Cove Road, Elsipogtog First Nation
New Brunswick, E4W 2S6
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