Recently the Ontario Court of Appeal allowed an appeal on the issue of whether victims of crime committed by police officers have the right to sue the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) for negligent investigation. The judge determined that there was no such right. The Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto was an intervenor. Here’s the decision.
On June 20, 2006, two police officers were involved in the pursuit of a van driven by 15-year-old Duane Christian, a black youth. The pursuit led to a confrontation and, when Duane attempted to drive away, he was fatally shot by one of the officers.
The respondents allege that the SIU was negligent in its investigation of Duane’s death by failing to interview one of the officers and failing to ask the other officer certain key questions. It is further alleged that the SIU negligently allowed the officers to keep their firearms for several hours after the shooting and that it closed the investigation before receiving the pathologist’s report. The respondents plead that a proper investigation would have led to criminal charges being laid against the officers.
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In my view, the SIU does not and should not conduct criminal investigations to advance the private interest of any individual citizen. I agree with the submission of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police that there is an inherent tension between the public interest in an impartial and competent investigation and a private individual’s interest in a desired outcome of that same investigation, which includes seeking to ground a viable civil action against the alleged perpetrators. To impose a private law duty of care would, in my view, introduce an element seriously at odds with the fundamental role of the SIU to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct in the public interest.
Turtle Talk 