Second Review Clears Police In Matters Death
Prince George, B.C. – The Independent Investigations Office has cleared RCMP officers of any wrongdoing in the 2012 shooting death of retired Prince George soldier Greg Matters and the agency says it will not forward the case to Crown counsel.
The IIO conducted a supplemental review of the Matters death after a pathologist told a coroner’s inquest that Matters was shot in the back, contrary to what the agency had said in its initial report. However the IIO’s review states that the difference between the pathologist’s testimony and the agency’s report was caused by unclear language. The initial report indicated that Matters was shot in the chest. IIO head Richard Rosenthal said the use of the word incorrectly gave the impression Matters was facing the officer when he was shot.
In the supplemental review Rosenthal says “I deeply regret the confusion this caused, and will strive to use clearer language in future reports.” Rosenthal says there is no new evidence suggesting any of the officers involved in the shooting death of Matters may have committed a criminal offence. And the agency says it will not refer the case to Crown counsel.
Matters was shot and killed during a standoff with the RCMP outside his Pink Road home after officers went there to arrest him for allegedly assaulting his brother.
Comments
Sniff,, sniff,, sure smells in here..
Oh lordy, not again!!! I agree, sure smells like rotten fish around here.
Sure does smell fishy!!
007?
Yep quite a smell , no surprise here. How do these people face their families each day?.
Must agree with all the above comments. Shot in the back ??? Not even in the Wild West would you get away with that. May the shooter rot in hell.
“The Independent Investigations Office”?
Are we living in the 21th century in Prince George or in the 18th century?
Your forgetting one thing!, and no matter what , he put himself here. things could have have been different . Know I ask you , after everything that happened , would you take the chance and put your gun down in this situation? and see what happens?. I feel for him but he didn’t make it easy
After what happened in Moncton, I am surprised to see people condemning the RCMP. If you are going to make the choice to start a gun standoff with the police, how do you think it is going to end? Perhaps if he had killed or seriously injured several of our own officers, making national headlines, we would have sympathy for the RCMP. The officer made a split second decision, is going to be his life, or my own life? His life or the life of my colleague? If you can honestly say in a situation like that you would pick this person’s life over your own, then you are free to judge…..Just please refrain from joining our police force. We don’t need more dead Mounties on our hands.
“We don’t need more dead Mounties on our hands.”
We don’t need any more dead civilians either.
Daisybee obviously wasn’t following the Matters incident.
He didn’t have a gun or an axe or a stapler!
The police where on site I believe for some 30 hours and his death was the result. Poor planing poor training. The IIO is a sham does does whatever it’s told.
Google Fred Quilt from Williams Lake. I haven’t forgotten him. Nor should you. IMO.
Have any of the people making these moronic and false statements even read the IIO report?? It’s public information FYI, educate yourselves.
According to the police, “they had no choice but to shoot Matters because he was brandishing a hatchet and approaching an officer who had fallen and could not defend himself.” So no, not a gun, an axe or a stapler. A hatchet. If a mentally disturbed individual were advancing on me, who had a history of making threats against people, I would hope that my partner would do all he could to protect me.
And no. I did not read the report. I have however read various articles from various news sites. Just because someone’s opinion differs from your own doesn’t make their statement moronic. I also offered no false statements. Just an opinion that differs from your own. I don’t live in a world where the police are evil and out to get me and my fellow citizens, I saddened that you seem to feel that you do.
WITH ALL THE ASSETS DEPLOYED IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE REACHED THIS TRAGIC END.
POOR TRAINING AND USE OF ASSETS!
Daisybee–were you there?? He didn’t have anything in his hands or close to hand. They didn’t handle it properly–his therapist offered to come talk with him–the police told him it wasn’t necessary.
A whole lot of unanswered questions, and I remember Fred Quilt too! And the kid in Houston! And the one in Vanderhoof school yard!
ntkr13–were you there??
http://iiobc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/IIO_Public_Report_on_Fatal_Shooting_of_Greg_Matters_Final-April_29.pdf
Umm daisy bee not sure how you thought my comment was directed at you at all. It was actually directed to the people who are bashing police and saying he did not have a weapon in his hand. Fact is he did have a hatchet raised above his head about to charge at an officer who was scared for his life. If he wasn’t shot that officer would likely be dead or severely injured. If that is the action you choose to take in front of police unfortunately the officers have no choice but to protect themselves and each other.
This report is useless because it is based on the inconsistent testimonies of 4 officers involved. Did RCMP learn anything from the taser and death of that Polish immigrant and subsequent investigation? The officers lied and they tried to cover it up and they were caught lying on the video later.
RCMP failed in handling the 911 call of this military vet and with this level of bad service people lose trust and discouraged from approaching them. It is time to start monitoring all RCMP guns and tasers by installing video recording on them for any confrontation. It doesn’t cost much.
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