Family members of Indigenous people whose deaths are being reinvestigated in Thunder Bay, Ont., are raising concerns about the process.
Lawyers and family members said Tuesday that they remain in the dark about what steps have been taken since 2019 when the police chief announced the reinvestigations.
They’re also concerned about the police chief’s role in the process, and lawyers say their letters to the investigative team raising concerns haven’t been answered.
A 2018 police watchdog report had recommended another look at the nine deaths after a review found racist attitudes undermined the original investigations. It found a “crisis of trust” existed between the Thunder Bay police and Indigenous people.
Thunder Bay Police Chief Sylvie Hauth recommended in 2019 that new police teams re-examine the cases of Marie Spence, Arron Loon, Christina Gliddy, Shania Bob, Sarah Moonias, Jethro Anderson, Curran Strang, Kyle Morrisseau and Jordan Wabasse.
The new team was also assigned to decide whether to reinvestigate the 2015 death of Stacy DeBungee, whose death was deemed not suspicious before autopsy results were in.
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