Prince George, B.C.- The Gitxaan concerns and questions about the shooting death of 35 year old Rodney Shane Jackson have been passed over to the Commissioner for Public Complaints  (CPC) against the RCMP.

 

Jackson was shot to death September 26 at a cabin near New Hazelton when the RCMP Emergency Response Team attempted to arrest him  for several outstanding warrants. The Commission for Public Complaints has an independent observer examining the investigation into that shooting to ensure the investigation is impartial, but as yet, there has been no official Chair Initiated Complaint that would look at the case.

 

Four days after Mr. Jackson was fatally shot by the ERT, the North District ERT was involved in another fatal shooting. That fatal shooting took place near Fort St. John, when Valeri George attempted to leave his Buick Creek property after a four day standoff.   In that case, an Independent Observer is examining the investigation into the shooting, and the Commission Chair has initiated a complaint.

 

The Chair’s complaint in the Buick Creek case is to examine:

 

2.    whether the RCMP national, divisional and detachment-level policies, procedures and guidelines applicable to such an incident and to situations in which RCMP Emergency Response Teams are deployed are adequate.

 

 

When asked why the Chair initiated a complaint in one case and not the other, Commission  Communications Manager Nelson Kalil   told Opinion250 the Chair, ( Paul Kennedy) had concerns about the Buick Creek incident involving a marginalized community and there may have been language issues. In this a case, says Kalil, the victim may have come from a background (Russian/German) where interactions with police were always adverse.

 

Some would argue, the Gitxaan scenario bears similarities. 

 

Gitxaan Chief Negotiator Beverly Clifton Percival told the Meisner program on CFISFM yesterday that her community was not made aware of the pending police action against Rodney Jackson, and that contrary to police information, the victim was not considered a threat to their community.  She raises questions about how someone could be deemed dangerous, when they haven’t been to court to face charges, nor have they been convicted of any violent act. She says policing should be a community concern, and as such, the Gitxaan should have been made aware of the pending action. She also says while the Gitxaan have requested to have their own representative observe the investigation, no such arrangement has yet been made.

 

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP   says the concerns raised about the Jackson shooting will be passed to the Chair, and nothing precludes the Chair from deciding to launch a Chair Initiated Complaint into that case as well.   A decision on launching such a complaint has yet to be made.