CPC Launches Review of Police Procedures In Matters Death
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 @ 10:28 AM
Prince George, B.C. – In the wake of the IIO’s conclusion of the investigation into the shooting death of Greg Matters, (see previous story)the Chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, initiated a complaint and public interest investigation.
This probe will focus on the conduct of RCMP members who were involved in the incident.
"By examining the conduct of RCMP members involved in this serious incident, the Commission provides an added level of scrutiny to ensure such conduct is reasonable and policies and procedures are adequate," said Richard Evans, the Commission’s Senior Director of Operations.
Specifically, the CPC’s investigation will look at if the officers followed all procedures and guidelines for such incidents:
- whether the RCMP members or other persons appointed or employed under the authority of the RCMP Act involved in the events of September 9 and 10, 2012, from the moment of initial contact through to the subsequent shooting death of Mr. Matters, complied with all appropriate training, policies, procedures, guidelines and statutory requirements;
- whether the RCMP national, divisional and detachment-level policies, procedures and guidelines relating to such incidents are adequate; and
- whether the actions taken by the RCMP in response to the incident were taken in accordance with all applicable policies, procedures, guidelines and statutory requirements.
Evans says timeliness is important, and the CPC investigation will be done as timely as possible. “I would think that at the outside it would be a year, but I think this one could be done in considerably less time.”
IIO Civilian Director Richard Rosenthal says there will also be a Coroner’s Inquest into the death , the Coroners’ Service says that has not yet been finalized.
Comments
The K9 officer shot him because the hatchet posed a danger to the dog. In my world, a service dogs life is not a reason to take a mans life. Does that make me a cop hater?
He didnt release the dog because the hatchet posed a danger to the dog. He shot him because the hatchet posed a danger to another officer… nice spin though
Read the report.
The fatal shots were fired by the ERT K-9 officer.According to the K-9 officer,it was his original intent to deploy his police service dog (PSD)against Mr. Matters in order to take him into
custody. Once Mr. Matters armed himself with the hatchet,however,the officer
concluded that the use of the PSD was no
longer an appropriate option as the PSD would have been vulnerable to a hatchet strike.
So we agree, the hatchet is why the dog was not released. Except where does it say he shot him BECAUSE the hatchet posed a danger to the dog?
I will make it simple for you interceptor. Assuming Mr.Matters was a threat,the K-9 officer had two options One was to use his dog. The second was to shoot him. He chose not to use the dog, because THE DOG WAS VULNERABLE TO A HATCHET STRIKE. Not as you state “because the hatchet posed a danger to another officer.”
The only spin happening here is yours. Save it for your defense of the Lieberals.
“He chose not to use the dog, because THE DOG WAS VULNERABLE TO A HATCHET STRIKE.”
Makes sense to me. Once the dog is struck with the hatchet and injured or killed, what’s the next option for the RCMP?
It’s pretty easy for all of us to use our hindsight and play armchair quarterback.
Okay he had a hatchet, but was he attaching anyone? Could the cops have backed off and played for time a negotiation. Poor training, poor procedures maybe.
In hostage taking incidents all over the world, the first thing they do is bring in a member of the family to talk and try to calm the situation.
Why then, in a situation far less severe, did they not let his mother in to talk to him, instead of manhandling her and throwing her in jail while they shot her son?
JB, I would assume the PSD was trained to neutralize dangerous suspects. Even if it wasn’t, if the dog failed, the K-9 officer could then have shot Mr. Matters.
No there was no criminal action here, but poor judgement seems to have been the order of the day.
Was the hatchet as big as a stapler? Weren’t the officers on HIS property? Just maybe if the officer released the dog he might of dropped the hatchet. But we will never know.
Next!
No criminal charges but incompetent Rambo reaction by poorly trained cops to a domestic. Mother and family not allowed to speak to the victim, why? Notice the investigator totally distances himself from the incompetent operation. Why this overblown reaction to a domestic? Did the cops escalate this situation? I believe they did unless other information is brought forward.
Is this the type of reaction any veteran can expect from the cops?
And the cops wonder why they are losing respect on a daily basis? They have fostered an “us-versus-them” mindset in society which is to the detriment of everybody.
“And the cops wonder why they are losing respect on a daily basis?”
Probably because they are put in no-win situations like this one.
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
What kind of a adult uses the word “haters”. You sound like a child.
Not proud of this statement and I won’t be looking back for comments on it either. A few years ago, having been associating with the wrong people and not knowing it, I got to experience just how the RCMP like to handle innocent people. Being dragged, bruised and hand cuffs slapped on my wrists that made me bleed. Just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Talk about luck. I was told I would never see my kid again if I didn’t give up any info?? I was told my friend would be hurt. And at the time of being arrested the main officer and his partner were joking about putting my four month old in the carseat, in the highway. PG RCMP ARE CORRUPT AS THEY COME. Thanks to Robert Lamont, Rob Baker, const, McCready, I am scared shitless of this town let alone having to face either of them again.
According to the urban dictionary, hater is an overused word that people like to use just because someone else expresses a dislike for a certain individual.
Example given is:
PERSON 1: I don’t like Beyonce’s new song.
PERSON 2: You’re a hater!
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