RCMP cleared in shooting of Site C dam activist
May 23rd, 2017
James McIntyre was shot outside an open house for a dam project, “Site C” for the dam. You know, those open houses they hold to tell the public what they’re going to do before they do it… There was an investigation of the shooting by Canada’s “Independent Investigations Office,” and I’d had an alert and checked now and then, particularly a year after the shooting, but didn’t find the articles on the IIO’s November release of information until yesterday! Here’s the report from the IIO:
Here are some press write ups:
Police ‘begged’ Site C activist to put down knife before shooting him, witness says
IIO clears RCMP in shooting of James McIntyre
RCMP officers cleared in shooting death of Site C protester in Dawson Creek
Look at the way the press framed this article:
RCMP officer cleared in shooting death of B.C. activist that sparked Anonymous revenge campaign
This shooting of McIntyre hit home for me because of my routine of going to the open houses and hanging out at the door, and I know so well how angry people get when there’s infrastructure proposed in their community, on their land. They published my LTE about this in the Alaska Highway News:
Here are my older posts about the shooting, including a video of the shooting by someone in the hotel who was looking out the window:
RCMP shoots hydro dam protester? Nope, misidentified!
James McIntyre ID’d as man shot by RCMP
It’s been a year since McIntyre was shot in BC
RCMP shoots hydro dam protester? Nope, misidentified!
July 19th, 2015
.
When you’re challenging utility projects, be careful. The guy who was shot was misidentified, but he’s still dead, that won’t change…
There was someone disrupting the BC Hydro open house/meeting, tearing up maps, toppling easels, etc., and he was asked to leave and was escorted out. It seems it was another person who was shot! There’s been no claim that the disruptive person was armed or threatening anyone. There are reports that the man who was shot didn’t follow police instructions/didn’t listen to orders, something like that, and that he had a knife. SHOT?!?! KILLED?!?!
See below, confirmation that the “Site C protester” and the man who was shot are DIFFERENT PEOPLE!
Report from Red Power Media:
‘Guy Fawkes’ Masked Man Dead After RCMP Shooting at BC Hydro Open House
In the press:
Two men involved in fatal RCMP shooting in Dawson Creek (this one says he may had been involved in a domestic dispute in the bar)
Police say man shot in Dawson Creek was masked and aggressive (they’ve changed the headline on this article)
Dawson Creek police shoot man who refused to throw weapon away, witness claims
Fatal shooting in Dawson Creek not connected to “Site C”
RCMP fatally shoot man at BC Hydro information session
Two men involved in fatal RCMP shooting in Dawson Creek
Here’s the witness’ video, he saw them shoot him and started recording:
OH, CANADA…
Press conference – IIO’s Kellie Kilpatrick, executive director of public accountability with the Independent Investigations Office:
Site C protester and shooting victim were not the same man
Nearly 24 hours after a police shooting left a man dead outside a Dawson Creek restaurant, B.C.’s law enforcement watchdog was convinced the victim and a man who disrupted a Site C dam open house inside were one and the same.
They were not.
“We verified, verified, verified. At two o’clock I was told the same guy, at three o’clock I was told the same guy, then I land in Dawson Creek and I’m told ‘different guy,'” said Kellie Kilpatrick, executive director of public accountability with the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) at a media conference at 7 p.m. Friday.
Thursday night, the IIO and RCMP said the shooting occurred outside a public information session on the Site C dam, and that the man who was killed was “believed to be connected” to the disturbance inside.
Instead, the man who reportedly flipped tables and destroyed maps at the BC Hydro event is alive, while another is dead.
The IIO could not yet confirm what the victim was doing at the Fixx Urban Grill restaurant on the evening of July 16, but said he had a knife. Police shot the man after he acted aggressively and refused to comply with police instructions. He died shortly after. Little is known about him, as investigators have not released his name.
As for what investigators know about the man at the Site C event: “He’s alive,” Kilpatrick said.
According to Kilpatrick, the Dawson Creek investigation has been one of the most complex the office has encountered since it was created in 2012.
“Since the beginning of the operations of the IIO, we’ve not seen a case that has quite as many moving parts as this one,” she said.
“The RCMP as well as the IIO spent close to four hours last night confirming what we thought was the most relevant, most accurate information. To come speak to you now almost 24 hours later, and provide a significant change in the information is not something we typically find ourselves dealing with.
“That’s a fairly substantive clarification that needed to be made.”
It was a remarkable turn in a day that saw Dawson Creek and its police force thrust into the spotlight, and one of the most controversial projects in B.C. linked to a police shooting.
At about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, police shot and killed the man outside the front door of the Fixx restaurant. A video of the aftermath emerged online, showing officers with guns pointed at the man, who appeared to be holding a knife.
An open house about construction of the controversial $8.8-billion Site C dam was taking place in banquet facilities of the restaurant that evening.
According to an attendee, a man flipped tables and tore display boards illustrating the dam from their stands before being escorted out of the room.
Curtis Pratt was inside and said he did not hear shots, but later saw the body. He said the victim was wearing a mask, and he wasn’t sure whether it was the man from inside.
Kilpatrick did not have additional information about the protestor, but said “he never did come into contact with police.”
Her office is continuing to investigate the shooting. The officers involved have been sequestered, and it is not clear whether they will be charged, suspended or placed on administrative leave. The IIO also said investigators were not sure if the officers had tasers or other lesser means of force, which will be a key part of the investigation.
“That’s something our investigators have been following up on today. I don’t have the answer to that,” Kilpatrick said.
“What an officer carries on his toolbelt varies depending on officer location, detachment and the type of work they are doing.”
What is clear is that “police came in response to the disturbance and found themselves in contact with this other individual,” Kilpatrick said.
The IIO is asking anyone with information about what happened in the area to come forward, saying cell phone videos are of particular interest.
“In this day of social media, we aware that there is a lot of information circulating out there,” Kilpatrick said. “We’re very interested in speaking with anyone who has information about what they saw or what they heard here last evening,” she added.
Anyone with information is asked to call the IIO at 1-855-446-TIPS.