Thunder Bay police facing allegations of systemic racism

The Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) will be conducting an investigation into the Thunder Bay Police Service over numerous allegations of systemic racism.

The OIPRD may conduct investigations into systemic issues arising from public complaints and will work to identify and offer solutions with ongoing issues within a police service.

The investigation is centred around complaints made over the Thunder Bay Police Service’s handling of several deaths in the city involving Indigenous people.

The catalyst of the investigation is the death of forty-one-year-old Stacey DeBungee, whose body was found in McIntyre River on October 19, 2015.

The family of Stacey DeBungee have taken issue with how Thunder Bay Police Service treated them during their investigation.

When the body of Stacey DeBungee was found, Thunder Bay Police issued a statement stating: “Initial investigation does not indicate a suspicious death. A post mortem examination will be conducted to determine an exact cause of death.” Then twenty-five hours after the body had been discovered police issued a second statement stating: “Death has been deemed as non-criminal.”

But both releases were issued before the post mortem had been completed, the family’s lawyer says.

The investigation will take place this Fall and will also look at the deaths of the seven Indigenous students who died in Thunder Bay.