The RCMP will not take disciplinary action against an officer who fatally shot a Wagmatcook, N.S., man because the force took too long to start its investigation.
RCMP went to John Simon's home on the Cape Breton First Nations reserve in 2008 in response to a call that he was suicidal. An officer entered the home without orders and shot Simon when police say he reached for a gun.
A Halifax Regional Police investigation released in December 2009 found Const. Jeremy Frenette acted in self-defence but that he entered the house after his superiors told him not to.
The RCMP started its disciplinary review in January and said Thursday that regulations suggest too much time has passed since the incident to complete it.
"We did start a discipline review. Based on the amount of time that had passed from the time of the incident until the review was initiated, it was very questionable, our ability to continue with that process," said RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Brigit Legere.
Legere said a review must be completed within one year of the incident. The HRP investigation report was released one year and 12 days after Simon was shot and the RCMP then started its internal review.
"It was a gap in our process," she said.
Simon's widow said her husband would be alive today if the officer had not entered the 44-year-old man's home.
"I thought there would be something. Some small, token, gesture," Patsy Mackay said Thursday.
"Everybody, every single person who knows anything about the story, knows how it went down. There's just not going to be justice, you know they're not taking any blame, nobody's sorry. There's nothing anybody can do about that."
Legere said an administrative review will likely make changes to RCMP practices and that the officers involved in the fatal shooting will be given additional training.
'This is unbelievable'
The announcement met with an incredulous reaction from the Wagmatcook First Nation.
"This is unbelievable," said Brian Arbuthnot, director of operations for the Wagmatcook First Nation's band council. "It goes to the heart of the mismanagement of the RCMP from top to bottom."
Arbuthnot said the community will be stunned to learn that an administrative error resulted in the review being dropped.
"How can you miss doing disciplinary action in a man's death?" he asked. "Words go beyond how I feel about this right now. It's negligence in the highest order."
Archie Kaiser, an expert on criminal law at Dalhousie University, said the RCMP is not providing the public with an adequate explanation.
"Unfortunately, I think the decision not to proceed with disciplinary proceedings will further undermine public confidence in the way in which the RCMP handled this investigation," he said.
Frenette shot Simon dead on Dec. 2, 2008, after the officer climbed through Simon's window and confronted the allegedly drunk and suicidal man.
A report by the Halifax police into the incident concluded Frenette didn't violate any laws and shot Simon in self-defence. The report quoted Frenette saying, "I felt he was gonna shoot me."
But that report also said Frenette was "in contravention of established RCMP policy," and that his supervisor instructed him to stay out of Simon's house.
After arriving at the scene, Frenette had moved closer to the home, up onto a deck and had looked inside the door and windows, according to the report.
Frenette asked twice for permission to enter the home but it was not granted, though he "decided to act alone on this opportunity to catch John Simon unaware," the report said.
The portion of the report that explains why Frenette felt he had to enter the house is blacked out, which Kaiser said raises more questions about the shooting.
"This underlines the importance of having a full public inquiry into this incident and the issues it exposes," he said.
Simon's widow said she was informed some time ago that disciplinary actions against Frenette, who has been moved to another community, were unlikely.
"It's so obvious to anybody except the RCMP what happened. He acted against direct orders. What kind of policing is that, where you don't obey orders?" Mackay asked.
Provincial Justice Minister Ross Landry has ruled out launching a public inquiry, saying it wouldn't "necessarily address" the concerns of the Wagmatcook First Nation.