{"id":26302,"date":"2022-07-18T14:32:48","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T18:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=26302"},"modified":"2022-07-18T14:32:49","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T18:32:49","slug":"the-conversation-families-still-seeking-justice-for-loss-of-loved-ones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/07\/18\/the-conversation-families-still-seeking-justice-for-loss-of-loved-ones\/","title":{"rendered":"The Conversation: Families still seeking justice for loss of loved ones"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Prince<\/a>
A totem in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Photo: Adam Jones<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Police investigations into the deaths of several Indigenous youth in Prince Rupert found\u00a0inadequate<\/div>\r\n
Monday, July 18, 2022<\/div>\r\n
By Steff King<\/a> (Simon Fraser University<\/a>)<\/div>\r\n
The Conversation<\/div>\r\n
theconversation.com<\/A><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBetween 2004 and 2013, three young Indigenous people died under mysterious circumstances in Prince Rupert, B.C., and the investigations into their deaths were inadequate.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nEach death occurred at the waterfront and was quickly labeled a suicide, accident or slip-and-fall and intoxication \u2014 all determinations that come as no surprise to Indigenous communities<\/a> \u2014 particularly before the completion of a full investigation<\/a>.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nNews coverage at the time of the deaths<\/a> indicated the families of Kayla Rose McKay, 13, Emmalee McLean, 16, and Justin Brooks, 21, fought for information from investigators.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nIn 2013, the families sought out legal advocacy and a team of people with expertise in challenging Indigenous death investigations formed. They included advocates from Vancouver Aboriginal Transformative Justice Society Services (VATJSS)<\/a>, B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA)<\/a> and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC)<\/a>. The team\u2019s goal was to assist the families in getting information and address the investigative inadequacies.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nAs part of an academic team dedicated to helping achieve these goals, I examined the investigative conduct from each case and compared it with standard procedure required for both law enforcement and coroners. The results determined that each investigation had several procedural deficiencies.

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Investigative inadequacies<\/div>\r\n\r\nIn the case of Brooks, his family presented concerns about how quickly the RCMP returned his bloodied clothing<\/a> \u2014 especially when Brooks had been in a fight the night of his death.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nBaseline death investigation policy says that \u201call material located at a crime scene should be considered potentially relevant to the investigation<\/a>\u201d and that investigators must collect and preserve all relevant evidence should the case arrive in court.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nGiven that the coroner had not yet made a final determination of death at this point, the clothing should have been treated as valuable relevant evidence, received forensic analysis and been kept for the duration of the case. By returning the clothing to the family so quickly, forensic analysis wasn\u2019t done meaning the clothing won\u2019t be viable to use in court if the case ever reopens.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nBrooks\u2019s family also says they were not allowed to identify their son\u2019s body<\/a> and were unable to confirm whether it was their son who was found at the waterfront. McKay\u2019s family expressed the same, saying investigators denied them the right to view her body after she was found.

<\/P>\r\n\r\n\r\nInvestigative policy identifies both instances as inadequate procedures. Standard practice requirements state that families should be allowed to designate an individual to identify the deceased at the morgue. It further entitles families, should they choose, \u201cto have a representative present during the autopsy<\/a>.\u201d

<\/P>\r\n\r\nIn the cases of McLean and McKay, special investigative attention should have been paid over the suspicious circumstances of their deaths and the age at which they passed. Both girls had acute alcohol poisoning and McKay was noted to have been missing her clothing when found<\/a>.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nIn the interest of public well-being, the B.C. Coroners Act<\/a> gives power to the chief coroner to call a reinvestigation (also known as an inquest) into any unnatural death \u2014 particularly when there are multiple similar youth deaths in one area.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nConsidering the additional suspicious factors like underage alcohol consumption \u2014 that McKay was found without clothing and that Brooks was in a fight the night of his death \u2014 it is surprising that none of the cases came to inquest or criminal court.

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