No charges for officer who accidentally shot Fort Simpson man in thigh
Environment and Natural Resources officer was trying to take down problem black bear in September
The N.W.T. Environment and Natural Resources officer who shot his gun in response to an aggressive bear in Fort Simpson, and accidentally shot a man through his home, will not be charged.
In September 2019, the N.W.T. Department of Environment and Natural Resources said one of its officers responded to reports of a bear that had been hanging around the village for about a week. The department said that an officer discharged his firearm responding to the bear's "aggressive" behaviour.
Dennis Nelner told CBC at the time that a bullet blasted through the wall of his home and into his thigh.
"The wall exploded," said Nelner, at the time. "I started yelling at the top of my lungs: 'stop shooting! You hit me!'"
Nelner was sent to Yellowknife for treatment and discharged from the hospital 12 hours later.
In a news release Tuesday afternoon, RCMP said they have finished investigating the case and would not charge the officer.
Police say they referred the case to Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which recommended that the officer shouldn't be charged because he "took reasonable actions to stop an imminent threat."