N.B. Green leader calls for RCMP review after death of Neqotkuk First Nation man

There are calls for a full-scale investigation into a fatal shooting of an Indigenous person by police.

There’s more pressure from inside the New Brunswick legislature for a full-scale investigation into the most recent death of an Indigenous person involving police.

A Neqotkuk First Nation man was shot and killed by an RCMP officer on Sunday during a domestic dispute call.

The Serious Incident Response Team is leading the investigation surrounding what led to the death of Bronson Paul.

Green Party Leader David Coon is calling on RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme to launch an investigation into how police systemically respond to mental health and domestic dispute calls which involve Indigenous people.

“(Duheme has) a responsibility to really look at this, engage the Indigenous community, and look at the training of RCMP officers,” says Coon in an interview.

Since 2020, four Indigenous people have been killed by police in New Brunswick: Bronson Paul, Steven “Iggy” Dedam, Rodney Levi and Chantel Moore.

“Rather than de-escalating these situations, the opposite has happened in each and every case,” says Coon.

In a video posted to Facebook on Monday, Premier Susan Holt says the Liberal government is committed to doing its part to ensure the investigation into Paul’s death proceeds “in a transparent, timely, and appropriate manner.”

In a written statement on Tuesday, interim Progressive Conservative Leader Glen Savoie says: “The process to discover the circumstances of this tragic event is underway and we must remain respectful to a grieving family as this process unfolds.”

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