Kim Bolan (Vancouver Sun) – A B.C. RCMP officer who didn’t get out of his car to investigate a 2008 Mission shooting has been reprimanded for “disgraceful conduct.”
A hearing Friday found that Cpl. Mike White did not adequately follow up on a shots fired call on Sept. 18, 2008 that ended up being a double homicide.
One of the victims, Lisa Dudley was found clinging to life four days later, but died en route to hospital. Her boyfriend, Guthrie McKay is believed to have been killed instantly in the targeted shooting.
Insp. Tim Shields said the RCMP board of adjudication handed White “a written reprimand and the loss of one day’s pay for disgraceful conduct.”
“He committed an act of omission by not conducting a thorough investigation in September 2008 when he responded to a shots fired call. Cpl. White did not contact the complainant directly, but instead, he made patrols in his police car, and finding nothing out of the ordinary, he left the scene to take another priority call,” Shields said.
White’s advocate told the hearing that in Mission in 2008, there were 127 shots fired calls. But in just 16 cases, the call was founded.
And in only 27 cases, investigating officers spoke directly to the 911 callers. It was neither policy nor routine practice to do so at the time, Shields said.
But as a result of Dudley’s death, the RCMP has made it mandatory for its members to speak directly with all 911 callers in reports of shots fired.
“Now, responding officers must speak directly with the complainant to determine if there are additional facts that might lead to further investigation such as door knocks, foot patrols or the use of a police dog,” Shields said.
“The RCMP is in the business of saving lives. When we see a tragedy like this one where, if we had taken an additional investigative step, a life may have been saved, it is devastating for us.”
Dudley’s parents, Rosemarie and Mark Surakka, attended the hearing Friday. Rosemarie held a photo of her late daughter facing White. Rosemarie sobbed as details of the night her 37-year-old daughter was shot were read in an agreed statement of facts.
For the first time, the family heard that Dudley was tied to a chair when she was discovered fatally wounded by a neighbour on Sept. 22 — four days after the shooting. The Surakkas began their public campaign to get justice for their daughter two years ago.
Hardly a deflection D. It is a noteworthy point that an officer is shot and injured in the line of duty and the press elevates the other story to the front page. I did not opine on the adjudication. It speaks to an issue that is broader than your personal bias. I guess you are in agreement that an officer shot in the performance of her duty is insignificant enough to be left out of the paper entirely. Just another cop shot, ho hum. Your profundity for the hierarchy of officers safety is duly noted.
“Do you think the lady would have survived if White had done his job properly? After all surviving 4 days after being shot to me makes me think IF discovered immediately the chances for recovery would be excellent. ”
We do not have enough facts to make a determination on that. However, we are told that the officer drove around the area and came up with nothing. I for one would like to know what additional information the caller had if any. A direction? A street location? A house perhaps? If the latter then I would be on board for some retribution. If all that was provided was the sound of “shots” being fired, its pretty vague. Did the complaint taker query the caller for information? What was given? Would a visit have yielded more? What was the priority call he left for? Should he have just forced his way into area homes and traipsed through private property?
“I do have difficutly (SIC) with the fact that it was not RCMP policy to talk directly to the 911 caller.”
So the dispatcher does not count? Was the caller properly debriefed in the first instance?
The RCMP is not above throwing someone under the bus at a later date in recent times. There is just not enough information to get on with a reasonable debate. Too many questions, not enough answers.
“I guess that would have been too much work, but now they have the extra burden of having to do that.”
If you want every call, no matter how small, investigated like a homicide, you are going to have to provide a lot more resources.
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I note that this was front page in the Vancouver Sun. Not enough details. I also note that nowhere in the paper is the fact that a woman officer was shot in Alberta. Certainly provides the priorities of the media. You would almost think that the fact the other officer with her shot and killed the assailant would provide grist for their mill against the RCMP.
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