Family, community bury man shot, killed during police chase

ONION LAKE CREE NATION The smell of sweetgrass and the sounds of song and drums permeated parts of a community hall this weekend as family, friends and community members gathered to say goodbye to Brydon Bryce Whitstone.

Whitstone, 22, was shot and killed by RCMP on Oct. 21 after the vehicle he was reportedly driving rammed a police cruiser in North Battleford during a police pursuit.

Officials with the RCMP said an officer opened fire on the vehicle “in response to the driver’s actions,” after they were received a report of a man being shot at and chased by two people in a vehicle.

On Saturday at the Communiplex Hall on the Onion Lake Cree Nation, the words uncle, cousin, father, son and friend were each attached to a piece of material that rested above Whitstone’s coffin.

In the coffin, family members had placed in Whitstone’s hands pieces of tobacco — which serves as a traditional gift for the spirits on his journey to the afterlife — alongside a large eagle feather, as the bird is a symbol of strength.

Nearby, photos of Whitstone were on display as part of a tribute to the 22-year-old. In them, Whitstone appeared as a smiling child wearing a graduation cap. Other photos showed the young man participating in army cadets and sharing an embrace with his mother Dorothy Laboucane.

“He was a good kid,” said Laboucane. “He just grew up a little too fast and made some bad choices.”

She said she and Whitstone’s father, Albert Whitstone Sr., were loving parents who taught their children right from wrong. Even as Whitstone got older, Laboucane said she worked to keep him on track.

A funeral card passed out at the ceremony said Whitstone, the youngest of 11 kids, was an inquisitive child who loved to play hockey and enjoyed the outdoors and being one with nature.

Ruth Lewis, Whitstone’s aunt, said her nephew took the wrong path as he got older.

Although he became involved in a gang known as the Westside Outlaws, he had told family members he was planning to leave the gang life behind after the death of his baby son on Sept. 7.