Clayton Miller case probes possible obstruction of justice by police
CBC News | Posted: January 15, 2015 5:00 PM | Last Updated: January 16, 2015
New Waterford teen died after police raided a party in 1990
A current member of the Cape Breton Regional Police Service may have undisclosed information about the decades-old death of Clayton Miller, the Serious Incident Response Team said Thursday.
Ron MacDonald, the director of the team, said the team is investigating the accuracy of information it received in October 2014, about Miller's death. He declined to go into detail about what that information is.
"We've received information, the accuracy of which we are now trying to determine, that if true would suggest that there may be a current obstruction of justice ongoing by a current member of the Cape Breton Regional Police Service," he said.
The individual is still an active member of the police force, said MacDonald.
"The investigation will attempt to determine if in fact it discloses any criminal offence," he said.
MacDonald said the investigation will likely take more than six weeks, but hopefully "not too many months" to complete.
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He added that the Serious Incident Response Team's mandate is limited to looking at events occurring after April 2012.
MacDonald told the Miller family that the team is looking at the case, and he plans to meet with them soon.
Miller, a 17-year-old from New Waterford, died in May 1990 following a police raid on a teenage drinking party in the woods on a Friday night. His body was not discovered until Sunday afternoon.
Two autopsies concluded his death was accidental, but his family believes Miller was murdered.
Gervase Miller, the boy's father, has marched the streets of New Waterford with protest signs for decades.
Miller's mother, Maureen, is hoping the SIRT investigation leads to results.
"What we’ve been fighting all along is for the truth to be told about Clayton, that he didn’t die in vain, he died for a reason and hopefully it’ll clean up this police force," she said.
Maureen and her husband, Gervase, have been trying to convince police of a cover up for years.
"They’re finally seeing the facts. It took a while, but it’s out there now," said Gervase.
The Police Act requires the Serious Incident Response Team's director to file a public report summarizing the result of the investigation within three months after it is finished.