An adjudicator has ruled that three Thunder Bay Police Service officers who were involved in what was found to be a deficient sudden death investigation of an Indigenous man will face disciplinary proceedings. Retired judge Lee Ferrier has granted an extension for a Police Services Act notice of hearing to be filed against the officers involved in the 2015 investigation into the death of Stacy DeBungee, 41. Within a few hours, Thunder Bay Police Service issued a media release to say the death was not believed to be suspicious, and the next day, before an autopsy was conducted, police said that the death appeared to be non-criminal. OIPRD reviewed investigationThe Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) reviewed the Thunder Bay Police Service's investigation after receiving a complaint from DeBungee's family and home community of Rainy River First Nations in 2016. An adjudicator has ruled that three Thunder Bay police officers will face disciplinary proceedings for their roles in the investigation into DeBungee's 2015 death, which the OIPRD found to have several deficiencies.

Source: CBC News February 18, 2021 16:06 UTC