No way to speed up investigation into Dunphy shooting death, Parsons says
The provincial government can't do anything to speed up the investigation into the shooting death of Don Dunphy, Justice Minister Andrew Parsons said on Tuesday.
Parsons said that his office can't meddle in the review currently being performed by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) without affecting the independence of its report.
He says that report will eventually be released to the public, and is necessary before a public inquiry can get underway into Dunphy's death.
"The fact is that I have no say in how long this takes," Parsons said.
"We're all expecting it very soon...from what I gather, they are extremely busy in Alberta. We're lucky that they even agreed to take on this matter."
Parsons's comments came after former premier Paul Davis blasted the government's handling of the Dunphy investigation. Davis said Parsons, as justice minister, should be more on top of the ASIRT report.
Former premier critical
Dunphy, 59, was killed in his home by an RNC officer April 5, 2015 — Easter Sunday.
The RCMP say Dunphy was shot after he aimed a loaded .22-calibre rifle at the officer, but as the officer was alone, questions remain about what happened that day.
ASIRT was brought on in January to review an RCMP investigation, but its report has not yet been delivered.
"It's somewhat concerning when the minister can't provide a better or clearer picture of what his expectations are of when it's going to be received," Davis said. "I would have expected him to keep a closer eye on this and have a better understanding of when he should expect to receive it."
"It's frustrating for me and I'm sure it's frustrating for members of Mr. Dunphy's family as well as the general public who are, in many ways, interested to know the outcome of this," said Davis.
Parsons told CBC News that the report is nearing completion, but he hasn't been given a time when it will be delivered.
He said Davis should know the importance of independence in police investigations, given that he was premier and a former police officer.
"For him to suggest that there's something else we can do here, either he doesn't understand the system or he's playing politics," Parsons said.
Inquiry promised
Davis told CBC News that he believed there was no reason the government can't get its promised public inquiry underway.
"It takes many months to set up and establish the inquiry," he said. "I certainly hope the minister's not, in any way, playing politics with this, but it seems like there's some delays that could have been avoided."
Davis isn't involved merely as the justice critic; he was premier at the time of Dunphy's death. The officer was also a member of Davis's security detail looking into questionable tweets made by Dunphy about Davis and other MHAs.
But Davis said the inquiry isn't about assigning blame.
"Inquiries are about finding ways to review what processes and procedures took place to find better ways for police to do their business," he said.
Parsons said an inquiry will be called as soon as possible, but it must be done properly, and that involved waiting until the ASIRT report is finished.
"I think it's imprudent and unwise to call an inquiry into a matter that's not completed yet."
Attempts by CBC News to contact the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team were unsuccessful.
