Left to right, Colten Boushie's mother Debbie Baptiste, with family lawyer Eleanore Sunchild, and Colten's uncle Alvin Baptiste at the conference Monday. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW)

By Angela Brown

Hoping for justice

Colten Boushie family continues to seek justice following CRCC report findings

Mar 22, 2021 | 2:19 PM

The family of Colten Boushie had an opportunity to speak out to express their concerns during the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) press conference Monday.

The event followed the release of an independent probe of the RCMP’s conduct during the investigation of Boushie’s shooting death.

Colten Boushie died from a gunshot wound to the head after he and four others drove onto Gerald Stanley’s farm near Biggar in August 2016. A jury found Stanley not guilty of second-degree murder.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) identified a number of deficiencies in the RCMP investigation. For example, the report indicated members failed to protect the vehicle Boushie was sitting in when he was shot. As well the report stated when Boushie’s mother, Debbie Baptiste, was notified of his death the RCMP members “treated her with such insensitivity that her treatment amounted to discrimination.”

Lawyer for Colten Boushie’s family, Eleanore Sunchild, said Boushie’s family were not treated with any respect or compassion.

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“This case is not unique to Indigenous people, to Indigenous families,” Sunchild said. “Indigenous people are treated like this all the time by the current justice system, by the RCMP.”

Debbie Baptiste said she hopes the report findings help bring positive change for the future.

“This is the time that we step up now and we tell you the injustice and the racism in the courtroom, the discrimination needs to stop,” she said. “Things need to change.”

Colten Boushie’s family lawyer Chris Murphy said the RCMP members did not treat Baptiste with respect when they searched her microwave after she told them she put Colten’s dinner there waiting for him to come home, when they came to notify of her son’s death.

“Shame on them,” Murphy said.

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) executive said in a statement it applauds the findings of the CRCC reports, and calls for the immediate implementation of all the recommendations.

“We also continue to support Debbie Baptiste and her family on their path of healing and finding justice for Colten Boushie,” the FSIN said.

The RCMP responded to the CRCC findings in a statement released March 20.

“Since receiving the interim reports, the Saskatchewan RCMP Senior Management Team has carefully reviewed the CRCC’s findings and recommendations and has committed to fully implementing all the recommendations,” said Saskatchewan RCMP acting commanding officer, chief superintendent, Alfredo Bangloy. “We have implemented 16 of the 17 recommendations that fall within the authority of the Saskatchewan RCMP and we are on track to complete the remaining recommendation by April 1, 2021 which is when all Saskatchewan RCMP employees will have successfully completed the Cultural Awareness and Humility course.”

The RCMP said the actions taken by the officers responding on that day in August 2016, as well as the days following, “were done with the best of intentions; their priority was to ensure public safety and to complete a thorough homicide investigation and lay charges in relation to Colten Boushie’s death.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW