Akwesasne residents want independent probe of police response on night of river deaths

Some members of the community where eight people died last month while trying to cross the St. Lawrence River into the U.S. want an independent investigation into how their police service responded to reports from residents that night of hearing shouts for help on the water. 

Chrissy Onientatahse Jacobs, who owns and runs a daycare in Akwesasne, says the Akwesasne Mohawk Police should have done more.

"I would love for there to be an independent review because right now it seems [Police Chief] Shawn Dulude doesn't have a lot of accountability in the community," said Jacobs, who was asked by other community members to speak out about their concerns.

Eight people, an adult family from India and a Romanian couple with two children, died on the river after boarding a boat on the night of March 29 — amid bad weather — to cross through Akwesasne and enter the U.S. Their bodies were recovered on March 30 and 31.

The Akwesasne police say they received two calls overnight from community members who reported hearing shouts from the river, and have since faced questions over how they responded. 

Isaac White, a reporter with Akwesasne's Indian Time newspaper, pressed Dulude on the issue during a March 31 news conference. White said the newspaper received reports that "community members heard people on the river screaming for help."

Dulude said, after getting the calls, officers immediately investigated with infrared and night vision equipment, but found nothing on the river. 

The police did not take a boat onto the water. 

Dulude has defended the force's response and told CBC News this week he asked Quebec's police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) to review the issue, including recordings of both calls. 

"It was deemed by them that there was no reason to pursue an investigation," said Dulude.  

The BEI could not be reached for comment.

The police force is currently facing a separate probe from the BEI, which tasked the Sûreté du Québec to investigate a shooting involving an Akwesasne officer. 

The officer fired at least twice on a vehicle — sending one bullet through the front windshield — in a densely populated area of the community on April 7, according to witnesses.

The officer was trying to enforce a two-year-old warrant on a woman who was parked in front of her grandmother's house with her cousin. The officer is currently on administrative leave.

Akwesasne lawyer Keith Gordon gathered reports from community members who heard shouts for help that night on the river. 

He said two called police at about 10 p.m. and midnight, local time. 

Gordon said a third sent a Facebook message to Akwesasne police at about 3 a.m. on March 30 — reporting the sound of a motor boat and someone shouting "hey" or "help." 

They received an automated response that the police does not monitor Facebook messages 24/7. The person did not follow up with a phone call. 

Gordon says police need to release more information to the community, including bodycam and dashcam videos to address concerns that they did not do enough.

"They say they're transparent, but there's so much information that is slow to come out. It's only revealed after the community puts it on Facebook," said Gordon. 

The issue also came up during a meeting this week in the Quebec district of Akwesasne, known as Snye, according to Jacobs. She said a community member stated that an officer sent to investigate the reports that night did not take it seriously. 

"They said the officers blew them off. That when they went to go look they tried to talk to the officer and the officer said, 'Oh well, there's no screams now,'" said Jacobs. 

"If officers are dismissive of human life like that they shouldn't be in that position."

Jacobs says it hit her hard to hear two young children were among the victims. 

"I think every child really does matter and those children that drowned mattered," said Jacobs.

Dulude has said the service is currently focused on dismantling the Canadian-based smuggling network that arranged travel for the families. 

Akwesasne's territory, which sits about 120 kilometres west of Montreal, spans the Ontario-Quebec-New York state borders. Akwesasne Mohawk Police are responsible for patrolling the Canadian side.

The investigation currently involves the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police and SQ, he said. U.S. Homeland Security Investigations is conducting a parallel investigation, he said. 

Akwesasne police continue the search for a local man Casey Oakes, 30, who is believed to have been piloting the boat.

Dulude said police have not yet determined whether he's on the run or perished in the river.

"We've been following up on all the information that's been coming in. People here, they're saying there have been sightings, they've seen him, they've heard, so we're following up on all tips on a daily basis," he said. 

Searches so far have only recovered Oakes's boots.