Four witnesses testified during the Stacy DeBungee death investigation hearing on Tuesday.
One of the men behind a complaint against the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) was Jim Leonard, who served as Chief of the Rainy River First Nation for 18 years.
Leonard told the hearing Tuesday that he was first approached by Brad DeBungee shortly after the death of Stacy, expressing frustration about the lack of answers that they were getting.
Leonard then followed up with his band council to see if they could give legal advice on how to proceed.
Leonard, DeBungee and lawyer Julian Falconer filed the complaint with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OPIRD) on March 18, 2016, alleging a pattern of the police service jumping to conclusions when it comes to the deaths of First Nations people.
The hearing also heard from the Director of Communications with TBPS Chris Adams, who previously served as Executive Officer, along with detective Shannon Primmer and retired Constable Janine Lewkoski.
Previously, Staff Sargeant Shawn Harrison pled guilty to the offence of failing to perform duties according to the Police Services Act based on the agreed statement of facts.
Harrison entered a not guilty plea on the second charge of failing to treat or protect people equally during the case.
Sergeant Shawn Whipple pled not guilty to both offences.
The 41-year-old Anishinaabe man was found in the McIntyre River in October 2015.
An investigation deemed the death non-criminal, but those results came just a day after his body was discovered.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) planned in October 2021 to launch their own investigation after a request from the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.
DeBungees’ passing was singled out in a 2018 Broken Trust report with claims of how cases involving Indigenous people are handled by police.
The livestream will resume at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday
