Mountie who fatally shot man in 2014 sues police watchdog
Investigation into incident took too long to produce a conclusion, claim says
A Mountie who fatally shot a man in southeastern British Columbia is suing the police watchdog that cleared the officer of wrongdoing, but took more than three years to reach its conclusion.
In October 2014, RCMP Cpl. Brian Burke was engaged in a search for Peter de Groot after an incident in which — according to an Independent Investigations Office of B.C. report — it was alleged there was an exchange of gunfire between de Groot and RCMP officers.
Four days after the incident, Burke located de Groot, 45, in a cabin near Slocan and, during the course of their interaction, shot and killed him, said a lawsuit filed by Burke in B.C. Supreme Court.
The IIO, which investigates police-involved shootings, launched an investigation, but took nearly 3½ years to find that the facts in the case justified the use of force by the officer to protect himself from death or grievous bodily harm.
The IIO report did not identify any of the people involved in the case.
In his lawsuit, Burke noted that the IIO in its report acknowledged that the decision took an unfortunate amount of time, and cited as reasons for the delay operational pressures, complex evidence and the need to seek multiple expert reports.
Burke, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2010 but was able to return to normal functioning, said that following the shooting he experienced a fresh onset of PTSD.
“As a result of the chronic stress caused by the lengthy investigation, Burke went off work due to disability in April 2017,” said the notice of civil claim. “Burke remains off work and unable to work due to disability.”
While Burke is paid his base salary while off work, his income is reduced because he formerly worked significant amounts of overtime, said his lawsuit.
He claimed he has suffered significant physical and mental effects including depressed mood, anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life and his career, loss of sleep and feelings of panic.
“The IIO did not act in good faith,” said his lawsuit. “While the IIO’s investigation into the incident was underway, the IIO was being criticized for investigations taking upwards of 18 months.
“It knew there was a standard for a proper investigation and breached that standard. In its decision it expressed regret for the lengthy investigation, acknowledging it failed to meet the standard expected for an investigation of this nature.”
Burke is seeking damages for mental injury, lost income and earning capacity, as well as special damages for the costs of psychological counselling. He also wants punitive damages.
No response has yet been filed to the lawsuit, which contains allegations that have not been proven in court.
But in an email, Ronald J. MacDonald, the IIO’s chief civilian director, said that they were aware of the lawsuit and were currently assessing their response.
“Any comment about the case must respect the court process. Therefore the IIO’s response to the allegations filed will be made within the context of the court pleadings and subsequent proceedings.”
In the IIO’s report on the incident, MacDonald said that while overall the process took much longer than anticipated, throughout the case the emphasis was placed on attempting to uncover all relevant and reliable evidence.
He said in the report that while it was unfortunate that the delays left the RCMP officer and de Groot’s family in a state of uncertainty for more than three years, at the end of the day he considered that the final result was the correct one, a conclusion that has been disputed by the shooting victim’s family.
In October 2016, a lawsuit was filed by de Groot’s family that alleged the RCMP used a disproportionate amount of force on a man with a cognitive disability.