Kodiak Regional rcmp issued a statement apologizing for misidentifying a body and informing a family that their son had died when in fact he was alive.
In a statement on Friday, SP. Benoît Jollet said he wanted to express his “deepest regret and sincere apology” for the next-of-its-kind notification.
“I know it will have deep and lasting effects on both the families involved, as well as on the wider community,” he said.
Jollett said that he had “spoke to the families to personally offer my apologies.”
Donna Price of Dieppe, NB, told Global News late last week that on Nov. 22, RCMP knocked on her door at about 1:30 a.m. with the news that her son was dead.
NB family in ‘shock’, allege RCMP mistakenly told them their son was dead
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Price and her son’s stepfather David were in “shock” and spent the early hours of the morning informing family members, including her elderly parents and her son’s father and stepmother. That same afternoon, a third party went to her son’s home to pick up some belongings and paperwork, and Price then received a call that her son was alive at her home.
When Price contacted the RCMP to tell them, she said she was shocked by the response.
“I was not greeted with an overly sympathetic ear. I was speechless by the lack of consideration,” she alleged.
Price has said she plans to take legal action against the RCMP. Fort Law attorney Brian Murphy said the RCMP was negligent and failed to take steps to properly identify the body.
“All of this has caused great concern and it is all due to a sloppy investigation,” he said.
At the time, the RCMP told Global News that they were “aware of the matter” and that “this is not a criminal matter, but may be part of a legal process very soon.”
A week later, the RCMP’s Joliet said the situation was being looked into.
“We are reviewing this incident, as well as the application of our policies and procedures, to determine exactly what happened and we are doing everything we can to ensure Committed to taking all possible steps to ensure that this does not happen again.”
“We strive to respond to all incidents with professionalism, integrity and respect. I reaffirm our commitment to serving the public with compassion for the very real and difficult circumstances facing so many people in our communities.” I want to
“There are times we can do better and I assure you we will.”
Murphy, Price’s attorney, said Friday afternoon that his client is “considering his options.”
What was found was identified as luke landryA homeless man who was released from prison on the morning of November 21, with no money, no winter clothes, and nowhere to go.
Landry’s mother, Mary McDonald, said earlier in the week that he had survived an overdose that afternoon at a supervised consumption site, where staff were unable to find him a warm place to spend the night. He died that night, and his body was found outside Moncton City Hall in a washroom that gets hot enough to keep the pipes from freezing.
McDonald is calling for change, saying several systemic failures led to his death.
“Something has to change, and it has to change quickly because we’re heading into winter,” McDonald said in an interview from his home in Prince George, B.C. “And my son, his name must mean something.” He’s not a statistic, he’s not just a homeless person.
As far as the RCMP are concerned, McDonald said she doesn’t understand how so many things went wrong.
“Why didn’t they just check the fingerprints?” she asked, noting that her son’s print was likely on file because he had just been released from custody.
— With files from Alex Cook and The Canadian Press.
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