RCMP investigation of Don Dunphy shooting death to face intense scrutiny at inquiry
Dunphy inquiry to hear from RCMP officers in the coming weeks
As the inquiry into the police shooting death of Don Dunphy continues this week, the RCMP is going to face claims that police accepted Const. Joe Smyth's account of what happened in Mitchells Brook almost immediately and without question.
What Smyth says happened
Smyth, 38, says he shot Dunphy in self-defence on April 5, 2015.
He drove to the St. Mary's Bay community to speak with Dunphy about social media posts he made that criticized then-premier Paul Davis and other MHAs.
Smyth says he fired at Dunphy four times after the injured worker pointed a 22-calibre rifle at him.
""They basically accepted [Smyth's] statement, and that was basically the end of the matter,"- David Riche
The RCMP was asked to investigate the shooting. There are no witnesses. The police force had only Smyth's account and evidence at the scene.
Two days after Dunphy's death, before the forensic evidence was completely gathered, RCMP officer Greg Hicks spoke to the media.
"The police officer was faced with Mr. Dunphy holding a long-barreled firearm which was pointed at the officer. The police officer responded to this threat with lethal force by drawing and discharging his service pistol," he said on April 7, 2015.
That matches the account that Smyth gave on the stand at the inquiry last week. He said Dunphy raised a rifle from the right side of his chair and pointed it at him.
Meghan Dunphy lays out a different theory
Earlier in the inquiry, Dunphy's daughter, Meghan, offered an alternative theory of what she believes may have happened before and after her father's death on Easter Sunday.
Meghan said her father carried a stick for protection because he feared someone would try to steal marijuana he was licensed to grow for medical reasons.
Meghan, who turns 29 today, suggested her 59-year-old father may have raised that stick towards the RNC officer — not a rifle.
"If Dad had picked up the stick and [Smyth] thought it was a gun and then he shot him and then afterwards realized, 'Oh my god, this is a stick. I'm going to go to jail. I'm going to lose my life,' that would be a reason to stage the scene," said Meghan.
Three days after the shooting, Meghan introduced those ideas to the RCMP in a statement to police.
"I asked him, 'What are you doing with a stick in the house? What's it for?' and he kinda smirked at me and said, 'That's in case anyone gets any ideas and comes over [after] me weed or tries to get in and get me weed,'" said Meghan.
"So I know the stick was there. So you know in my head that was by his chair. It always has been. You know, my dad could have pulled a stick on him and then if he sees the gun, well, how did you know [Smyth] didn't put the gun there?"
Police investigating police
The inquiry is already hearing evidence that even in those early days of the investigation the RCMP wasn't treating Smyth like it normally treats suspects.
An RCMP officer who was one of the first at the scene that Easter Sunday said he phoned the RNC officer who shot Dunphy to '"see how he was doing" just days after the incident.
Cpl. Trevor O' Keefe says he made the call while on duty on April 10.
Commission counsel Kate O'Brien asked O'Keefe on Thursday morning if he believed his call to Smyth was appropriate.
"Maybe it wasn't, but I just wanted him to know that somebody cared. I guess it was comforting " he testified.
O'Brien then asked, "Would you have made that call if he wasn't a police officer?"
"Probably not," responded O'Keefe.
"Did you call Dunphy's daughter, Meghan?" asked O'Brien.
"No," responded O'Keefe.
In Smyth's words
During his six days of testimony at the inquiry, Smyth also talked about how the RCMP treated him.
The inquiry heard evidence that Smyth told a friend that the RCMP interview "went well and the investigators were very supportive."
It also heard that Smyth told an RNC colleague that the RCMP was "complimentary and supportive." He said they believed his actions were "by the book."
Smyth cleared
Last September, the RCMP released the results of its investigation.
It said it had determined that no charges were warranted against Smyth. In November, the inquiry released the RCMP's report publicly.
- Const. Joe Smyth used 'appropriate force' to defend himself, investigators say
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ASIRT told Don Dunphy's daughter evidence was lost, lawyer says
That conclusion is unlikely to change but as the inquiry continues, the RCMP is going to face suggestions that it was too close to the RNC to investigate the shooting.
It's difficult to argue the RCMP was an outside independent investigator.
The Protective Services Unit that Smyth was a member of at the time of the shooting was a Joint Forces Operation between the RNC and RCMP.
A RCMP officer was with the unit when the Don Dunphy tragedy happened.
Judge Riche brought in
The RCMP did try to mitigate any public perception that it was too close to the RNC to perform an independent investigation.
David Riche, a retired Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court justice, was hired in the days after the shooting to provide oversight to the RCMP investigation.
It backfired.
'Leaned towards accepting Smyth's account.'- David Riche
Riche told CBC News he wasn't allowed to question many witnesses — or speak to Smyth. He said he found the RCMP did not always accept his suggestions, and felt investigators "leaned towards accepting Smyth's account."
"They basically accepted [Smyth's] statement, and that was basically the end of the matter," Riche said.
Serious Incident Response Team
Questions about the investigation have led many critics to conclude this province needs a Serious Incident Response Team, like Alberta's. ASIRT's mandate is to investigate serious injury or death resulting from police actions.
It's a conclusion this province's Liberal government has reached too.
Justice Minister Andrew Parsons said in November he has believed for a long time that a Newfoundland and Labrador Serious Incident Response Team is necessary.
"Our department has taken a number of steps just to explore the policy being implemented, and the legislation in other provinces," Parsons said.
"We're getting down, now, to identifying which is the model that would be best approached here.
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