Tunnel vision accusation 'scandalous,' RCMP officer tells Dunphy inquiry

A letter that Meghan Dunphy's lawyer wrote days after her client's father was shot dead by a police officer was described as "scandalous" by a senior RCMP officer involved in the homicide investigation.

In her letter, Erin Breen accused the police of having "tunnel vision" and asked that a outside force other than the RCMP investigate the shooting.

During the judicial inquiry into the shooting on Tuesday, Staff Sgt. Kent Osmond said he believes her comments were unacceptable.

"To get a letter from a legal counsel accusing me of tunnel vision and send that to people who can affect my career. To question my integrity and the integrity of people under my command and then to suggest that the tunnel vision permeates my unit is so egregious that it questions all the investigations that we have done … I think it's scandalous," he said

The inquiry is looking into the circumstances surrounding the April 5, 2015 shooting of Don Dunphy, 59, at his home in Mitchells Brook, St. Mary's Bay.

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary constable Joe Smyth said he shot Dunphy in self defence after Dunphy pointed a rifle at him. The RCMP cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing.

Justice Leo Barry, who is presiding over the inquiry, denied Breen's request Tuesday for a break in the hearings to prepare a response to the RCMP's description of her letter.

"I'd like time to respond to something that came out of the blue at me. If Sgt. Osmond is accusing me of some kind of misconduct I feel I need to deal with that in an appropriate way. That was not something I anticipated happening today," said Breen.

Osmond's comments weren't discussed at the inquiry again on Tuesday.

However, Barry decided she could apply to have Osmond return to the stand for further questioning if she wishes.

Dunphy glasses, bullet found by daughter

Smyth went to Dunphy's home to investigate tweets Dunphy had posted criticizing then-premier Paul Davis and other MHAs.

Breen's letter was written on April 16, 11 days after the shooting. She wrote that her client, Meghan Dunphy, had lost faith in the RCMP's ability to do a proper investigation, and asked for an outside and independent investigator.

"I do not make this request lightly. I make this request on Ms. Dunphy's behalf after (1) keeping an open mind from the beginning of my involvement in this process and (2) seriously considering the information that I have seen and obtained from Ms. Dunphy as well as the response of the RCMP," wrote Breen.

The request was made after Meghan Dunphy found a 22-calibre bullet and her father's glasses, items police told her had no evidentiary value.

"My unfortunate but sole conclusion is that the investigation currently ongoing is not thorough and has not been objective," Breen wrote in her letter.

"The failure to seize an exhibit of this nature accompanied by the failure to ask wide ranging questions of available witnesses in a case of this nature is a serious red flag for tunnel vision which cannot and should not be ignored."

Other bullets found by police

A RCMP forensics specialist who testified at the inquiry Tuesday afternoon said she saw more than two bullets at the scene of the shooting in Dunphy's living room.

The inquiry heard earlier that an unspent 22-calibre bullet was found on the table in front of Dunphy after he was shot, another one was in the rifle near his feet, and Meghan Dunphy found a third one days after the shooting.

Cpl. Kelly Lee testified she remembers another unspent bullet was in a container on the table near Dunphy.

Lee also said she recalled a pen near the folder Smyth said he dropped before shooting at Dunphy.

She said she doesn't recall if it was collected as evidence and wasn't sure of its exact location. She said it may have been under the folder found on the oval table.

Independent observer paid more $20K

Meanwhile, the inquiry was told Tuesday that the RCMP paid retired judge David Riche between $20,000 to $25,000 to provide independent oversight of its investigation into the Dunphy shooting.

RCMP Inspector Pat Cahill, the officer who met with Riche to contract the work, said Riche was paid a fee of $300 per hour.

Cahill told the inquiry that police felt they didn't get what they had paid for, and were disappointed.

Responding to questions from Smyth's lawyer, Jerome Kennedy, he agreed it appeared that Riche was "ignoring" his mandate.

Cahill said he had to remind Riche several times that he was an observer and not an investigator or a judge.

"Why not cancel the contract?" asked Kennedy.

"We didn't know what we would get until we saw Riche's report," responded Cahill.

Riche's report suggested the RCMP accepted Smyth's version of what happened in Dunphy's home without examining it thoroughly. He also questioned whether Smyth used appropriate force, and described the incident as a confrontation between two angry men.

"My conclusion in this matter is that there is a series of mistakes because I believe that this killing should probably have never happened," wrote Riche.

In earlier testimony to the inquiry, RCMP and Smyth said they were not pleased when they saw Riche's report.

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'Facts shrouded in twisted interpretation': Const. Joe Smyth lashes out at retired Judge Riche