Colten Boushie: Police 'discriminated' against victim's family

Colten Boushie

A Canadian watchdog group has found that police racially discriminated against the family of an indigenous man whose death led to calls for reform.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) "fueled racial tensions" in its investigation of Colten Boushie's death, the civilian group said.

Boushie, a Cree man, was shot by a white farmer, Gerald Stanley, after entering his property in 2016.

He was acquitted of murder by an all-white jury later that year.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) report, released on Monday, details how officers investigated the shooting and times where they displayed insensitivity and racial discrimination.

The commission found that Boushie's family suffered racial or ethnic discrimination from RCMP officers who went to the home to inform his mother of his death and search for a witness who was believed to be armed.

The report found that the officers discriminated against the victim's mother, Debbie Baptiste, when telling her to "get it together" following her son's death.

"One or more" investigators smelled Ms Baptiste's breath after asking if she had been drinking, the CRCC report found.

Armed officers searched her home, including in places no person could hide, as she lay on the floor crying, the report found.

After she said that her son's dinner was still in the microwave, officers checked inside, which also showed how they believe she lacked credibility.

• Boushie family calls for justice reforms

A press statement released after the shooting "caused anguish for the family", the report states.

"Although they did not contain inaccurate information, these releases could leave the impression that the young man's death was 'deserved' or that possible property offences that might have been committed by the young man's friends were of more concern to police than the young man's death.".

The report also questioned why two officers went to the man's wake to update the family on the case.

"The way they were treated was unacceptable," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. "We have seen, unfortunately, examples of systemic racism within the RCMP, within many of our institutions, and we need to do better."

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki has accepted the CRCC report's findings and vowed to conduct further racial sensitivity training.

Ms Baptiste said of the report's release: "If Colten could hear me now, he'd be proud that we continued fighting and we never gave up."