No Criminal Wrong Doing in Matters Death Says IIO
Prince George, B.C. – The Independent Investigations Office has concluded there was no criminal wrong doing by police in the shooting of Greg Matters.
On the evening of Sept. 10, 2012, the IIO was notified of the incident by RCMP in Prince George. The on-duty shooting involved members of the RCMP Emergency Response Team who had been deployed in
respond to a serious incident.
Matters had been shot twice in the chest, after efforts to subdue him with a conducted energy weapon failed. Rosenthal says the investigtion makes it clear that Matters was threatening an officer with a hatchet.
The IIO asserted jurisdiction and conducted a comprehensive investigation into the actions of the involved RCMP officers.
Following this investigation, (which produced 3,000 pages of investigative materials) Chief Civilian Director Richard Rosenthal concluded that there was no evidence that any police officer committed an offence related to this death.
Rosenthal’s findings are outlined in a public report, which can be found here.
Rosenthal says his mandate is not to gauge whether any officer breached policy, that is up to the RCMP. The Public Complaints Commission is launching its own review on the issues of policy and procedure. Rosenthal says he has made some suggestions on which ares he thinks deserve further consideration. He says he has pointed out some specific areas of concern, but will not publicly reveal those concerns because they do not fall within his mandate. That, he says it up to the RCMP to reveiw.
Rosenthal says it is important to note that of the 190 times that an emegency response team had been deployed to an incident or to make an arrest of a "difficult person" in 2012 in B.C., two of those deployments resulted in a death and the Matters case is one of them.
Comments
*Grabs popcorn* … these comments are about to get epic.
guess we know from these conclusions that buzzing a war vet suffering from PTSD with a helicopter is not a good idea, who’d a thunk ??
So the RCMP kill a man because he was(allegedly) carrying a hatchet? And then the IIO clears them of wrongdoing? I feel much safer. Yay cops!
I thought there was no such thing as a “perfect crime?” Got to stop watching TV.
When have you seen the media not use the word allegedly? If he was convicted in court of carrying a hatchet and killing a police officer in the line of duty, the media would say he was convicted of doing, you will never see the real media say he was actually carrying a hatchet.
And why would you need a helicopter to keep a eye out when you are going to arrest a war vet with PTSD? What are the odds he might jump out of a bush carrying a hatchet?
He was a veteran of the armed forces not a “War Vet” the two are very different things. And there was noting alleged about him having a hatchet. My condolences to the Matters family and to the police officers that had/have to go through this tragic time.
Being cynical and distrustful and sneering and mocking and sarcastic concerning policemen is not hate. Simple as that, pal.
That being said, it also applies to politicians. Right?
What is it with your hate for the British Columbia Civi Liberties Association BCRacer?
Just remember what kind of jobs police officers have to do. The stuff that they see and have to contend it is probably why most of us aren’t police officers. Everyone makes mistakes, especially in the heat of the moment, even if you are trained for that. Not saying this was a mistake but it is certainly sad that a man died and didn’t get help for her mental troubles.
Well maybe they should learn how to shoot a smaller target, like a leg.
Threatening a police officer does not say attaching. Maybe if the cop backed off there could have been a different outcome. Poor training and procedure maybe. Also this thing about shoot to kill no matter what, bullshit to that.
I can’t believe the negative comments that are continually made about the RCMP. How about putting yourselves in the shoes of these officers as they tried to deal with a man who was obviously out of control. Police officers put their lives on the line everyday and have to deal with and see things that are unimaginable to most of us. How about showing them some gratitude and respect!
Everyone makes mistakes? Right? That’s why they put erasers on pencils. So simple, eh?
Northern Gal, this guy that they shot knows all about putting his life on the line.
“tried to deal with a man who was obviously out of control”, Was he?
I think before someone comments, you should read the report from Director Rosenthal which is attached, click on “found here” paragraph 5 of the story.
Here you will find what happened on that day.
Read paragraph 4.08 pm where it states that “he’s threatening suicide by cop, he’s is going to do whatever it takes to have them shoot him”
I think that when you have read the report, you will have better undestanding of what transpired on that day.
“Read paragraph 4.08 pm where it states that “he’s threatening suicide by cop, he’s is going to do whatever it takes to have them shoot him”
If that’s the case, he would have gotten his wish sooner or later.
In other words, “you had to be there”. Methinks interpretations by twenty people would vary.
Harbinger did you read the report? No I was not there, however I live in the neighborhood, new the family, saw the commotion, numerous police vehicles going past my house, ambulance ect. Streets blocked. Unaware of what was going on at the time untill later when the news broke. Yes there has been a lot of interpretations as you have put it that is why I suggested to read the report.
Harbinger: “Being cynical and distrustful and sneering and mocking and sarcastic concerning policemen is not hate. Simple as that, pal.”
Well, not hate, but I guess it will do until the real thing comes along.
Simple minds yield simple solutions that do not fit complex situations.
I wasn’t there admittedly. I cannot comment on the ‘right or wrong’ of the cops’ actions.
But these kind of incidents do seem to be increasing more and more with the police forces, and that does not make me feel safer.
My heart goes out to the family of this victim because if past incidents are any precedent at all, they will have to fight long and hard to get ALL the facts.
“But these kind of incidents do seem to be increasing more and more with the police forces, and that does not make me feel safer.”
No they’re not. The media would like you to believe that maybe.
The vast majority of police interactions with violent people end well. Some don’t. As someone said, simple solutions do not work for complex situations where decisions have to be made in a split second.
Why was Matters considered violent enopugh to kill? They didn’t shool Sullivan when he put a gun to his girlfriends head and killed her? Sullivan shoul be free and Matters should be dead. I’m not swallowing that crap.
“Being cynical and distrustful and sneering and mocking and sarcastic concerning policemen is not hate. Simple as that, pal.”
You are correct Harbinger.
In his emails, Matters told of his experience in the military, which he said led to his PTSD diagnosis but also told of his recent troubles with the law, including his belief RCMP were out to hurt him. His tone shifted dramatically in the correspondence, from fear and paranoia of the police in one sentence to anger and outrage against authorities in the next.
One email from Matters detailed a dispute with his brother at his mother’s house on the weekend. He said the incident involved a car chase and he concluded by saying police were trying to arrest him.
“Guess what now, I gave the police my hand written statement last night and now they wish to arrest me RIGHT NOW â they (have) police cars station right now on PINKO Road wanting to arrest me,” he wrote in an email time-stamped 11:04 a.m. on Monday. “This all goes back so much â the police wishing to hurt me â why do people want to hurt me â I did nothing wrong but protect myself and more importantly my mother and property.”
Matters sent conflicting messages to the Citizen on Monday, first writing to an editor that he was feeling better and would rather discuss his troubles with his doctor at the Vancouver-based Operational Stress Injury (OSI) clinic than with the newspaper.
“I am very fortunate to have a support mechanism of the OSI clinic, down in Vancouver (Dr. Passey is back this week) â that stated; I feel as though I should vent my thoughts through those means. However, in the future, if you are still interested, perhaps one day in the future I will recontact the Citizen,” he wrote.
An hour later he wrote the email in which he said RCMP were trying to arrest him.
Matters went on to write that he believed the RCMP were out to hurt him and that he was waiting to hear back from legal counsel.
According to the email, the incident with Matters’ brother took place on the weekend after Matters said his brother drove aggressively into his mother’s yard at 3 a.m. Matters said he didn’t know it was his brother at the time and pursued the vehicle. Matters said his brother rammed into him but that Matters was eventually able to get his brother to stop and take his brother’s car keys after a fight.
“I called 911 several times for help â but like my previous experiences, they don’t want to help, they want to hurt â can you help me,” Matters wrote.
It’s believed that the car chase and crash is what instigated the current investigation and led to the standoff.
The correspondence with the Citizen began last week when Matters left emails and one voicemail with an editor asking for help with his issues with the RCMP. He said they stemmed from an incident when RCMP officers threatened a family friend and broke into their home.
Subsequently he alleges the RCMP raided his house with guns drawn.
Matters was convicted of uttering threats to cause bodily harm in January 2011 and given 18 months probation, but in his emails he said he was in the process of appealing the conviction.
“I need help, I am afraid and I live in fear each and every day because of what has occurred,” he said. “I am insensed!… and am desperate for some safe direction that may provide me some feeling of security in my own home â especially in my own home (the one place on this planet where EVERYONE should be guaranteed to feel and BE safe.”
According to court records, Matters’ name has been on the court docket 20 times since 2011. All of his interactions with the legal system had apparently left him feeling disenfranchised.
“Why can these things happen in a country such as ours at this date in time â why don’t things like the judicial system (especially the judicial system) evolve to match the values of society,” he wrote in his initial email to the Citizen. “There is so much more in my story that would make you sad… and insecure.”
Despite the fear and anger that was apparent in his writing, Matters tried to assure the Citizen that he was getting treatment to deal with his troubles.
“Again, please keep your worries to a minimum as I have Dr. Passey in my life to help me with these PTSD issues of the past,” he wrote. “I AM a good person and wish only the best for good people â why do people want to hurt me?” from the citizen
Thunderhead wrote: “He was a veteran of the armed forces not a “War Vet” the two are very different things.”
He served in Bosnia with the so-called “peace keeping” mission. I do not know when he served there or what “action” he saw, but in the first years of the mission there was no peace to keep. In fact, Canadians werre engaged in fighting and saw fighting and killing.
From the linked article: “The problem was: How to practice peacekeeping when there is no peace to keep? In an early attempt to put its foot down and enforce compliance, Canadian forces serving in the Medak Pocket put a halt to an aggressive Croatian advance, though they could not prevent the vengeful killing of civilians during the Croatian retreat. At the time, the Department of National Defence did not want to publicize this combat action by Canadian troops lest it antagonize the peace negotiations taking place, so official recognition of the battle did not come for many years.”
http://peacemagazine.org/archive/v22n4p16.htm
Some of this cops are just a waste of a good uniform and are performing there best, collecting[stealing] money, doing traffic control. They should have wounded him to slow him down instead of legally murdering him. Sorry for what happened,rest in peace.
Harb: “Being cynical and distrustful and sneering and mocking and sarcastic concerning policemen is not hate. Simple as that, pal.”
It sure ain’t love.
Heard a very interesting interview on CBC this morning with Richard Rosenthal. He emphasized that his investigation was a criminal one and, as noted in the headline of this story, there was no criminal wrong doing found. He went on to clearly explain why. He also noted that because this was only the criminal part of the process then he could not comment on the procedures, training, policies, etc. Those all appear to be what most people are commenting on here. That will come with the CPC investigation.
” Posted by: newly retired on May 1 2013 4:48 PM
I think before someone comments, you should read the report from Director Rosenthal which is attached, click on “found here” paragraph 5 of the story.
Here you will find what happened on that day.
Read paragraph 4.08 pm where it states that “he’s threatening suicide by cop, he’s is going to do whatever it takes to have them shoot him”
I think that when you have read the report, you will have better undestanding of what transpired on that day.”
—————————————–
At least you will have one side of the story!
Dog handlers are a breed of there own. They do not have the decision making ability to be in any situation such as this. Dog handlers are known by their own to be mafia style. If you bring a dog deploy the dog. Both would have lived.
Dog handlers a breed of their own huh? Mafia style? That is about the funniest thing I have read in a while. So he releases the dog and mantler chops it. There is still the problem of getting the axe away from him. You going to run in there and risk getting chopped in the face or neck? Thought not.
As for these superstar crack shots. You have obviously never hunted before. You shoot an animal and it is wounded, it runs off. Bullets don’t throw people back in the movies
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