Moncton, New Brunswick (Winnipeg Free Press) – The chief of the Assembly of First Nations is calling for a public inquiry into the fatal shooting of an aboriginal man in Cape Breton by an RCMP officer.
Chief Shawn Atleo says the death of John Simon on the Wagmatcook First Nation and a subsequent police report into the shooting “justifies the need for a full and independent public inquiry.”
Atleo says the family and community will never have closure until an open and transparent look at the death is conducted.
Simon was shot in his home by an RCMP officer in December 2008.
Atleo was joined at a news conference today in Moncton, N.B., by Wagmatcook Chief Lester Peck and regional Chief Rick Simon.
Peck says more than a year after the shooting, Wagmatcook residents still have more questions that answers.
An investigation into the shooting by Halifax Regional Police cleared RCMP Const. Jeremy Frenette of any wrongdoing while acknowledging the officer ignored an order from a superior to not enter Simon’s home.
Frenette ended up shooting the allegedly suicidal and intoxicated man three times, though the Halifax police concluded he did so in self-defence.
Today, the law is a joke.
Had this native man shot the RCMP officer for illegally breaking into his home with a hand gun in his hand, he would have been charged with first degree murder and self defense would not have been an option.
See this self defense is a mockery of the legal system as it only applied to an officer who SAYS HE FEELS his life was in jeopardy, while the public does not have the option to claim this defense and see it succeed even 1% of the time.
Based on what I have read, I put my support behind these two Chiefs in believing they are justified in asking for this Public Inquiry into the officer’s refusal to follow an order from a superior officer not to enter the home and the action that caused death to this native man.
I perceive that justice has not been done here and the governments should be accountable for the actions of the security forces they employ just like the public sector.
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
18 
9