‘The process bore the facts out:’ Government and Opposition respond to PCC report

By Nigel Maxwell

Saskatchewan’s corrections, policing and public safety minister says the circumstances surrounding the death of a young child in Prince Albert were extremely unfortunate and somewhat avoidable.

Christine Tell was reacting to the recent report from the Public Complaints Commission that found neglect of duty by Prince Albert police in connection with the death of 13-month-old Tanner Brass.

The report also revealed that stories initially shared by an organization representing the child’s mother did not line up with evidence taken through audio and video recordings. Speaking with reporters in Regina on Thursday, Tell said she supports all the report’s findings.

“The process was followed and the process bore the facts out,” she said.

Among the more glaring inconsistencies were the circumstances related to the arrest of the mother. During the March press conference, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Chief Bobby Cameron described a situation in which the mother was falsely accused of being intoxicated and taken to police cells against her will. Cameron also said the mother’s repeated cries for her child’s safety were ignored.

However, the audio and video recordings painted a different picture, and it was noted the only time the mother — who went willingly to a police cell — raised any concerns about her child was during the initial 9-1-1 call.

“That kind of stuff happens and we trust the findings of the process and hopefully from here on, we won’t have this type of thing happening again,” Tell said when asked by reporters about the discrepencies.

Within hours of the report’s release, a news conference was held at the Prince Albert police station, where Police Chief Jon Bergen confirmed plans to retire on May 31.

Tell was asked by reporters if Bergen’s decision to step down was voluntary or recommended by the ministry. Tell said the decision was arrived at after discussion between Bergen and the city’s police board.

“I’m not privy to the discussions that occurred there,” she said.

Following the infant’s death, as well as a number of in-custody deaths, the province appointed an external expert to conduct a thorough review of the Prince Albert Police Service.

Tell confirmed both the ministry and the police board have copies of that report, and she expected to release it to the public in the next few weeks.

“There’s just ongoing discussions about the recommendations that are mentioned in the report,” she said, adding people in Prince Albert need to see what was done and said.

With respect to the question of what will happen to those recommendations, Tell said there’s an expectation that all the recommendations will be implemented.

During Thursday’s press conference, Bergen confirmed the two officers involved remained on suspension. Tell explained it’ll be up to Bergen’s replacement to determine their future.

Response from the NDP

Noting her appreciation for the work done by the Public Complaints Commission, NDP Justice Critic Nicole Sarauer said the investigation is further evidence of the need to have the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety release the report.

“I think it’s important for transparency (and) for public confidence in the justice system and the policing system which is something everyone wants, including police,” she said.

Among the report’s findings was the mother, who was seeking a safe place to go, could not go to a shelter and so agreed to be housed at police cells.

“Putting someone in a detention centre, in a jail cell, because there isn’t a shelter room I think is something that happens more often than we know in the province and it does because there’s simply a shortage in the amount of shelter space in Saskatchewan. It’s a real problem,” Sarauer said.

Explaining Saskatchewan has the worst rates of intimate partner violence in the country, Sarauer said the ministry has endless work to do.

“Creating more shelter space is a piece of it. Creating a more inclusive justice system is another one. There’s a lot of work to be done here and by no means has that work been concluded,” she said.

Sarauer also expressed her desire to see the province’s domestic violence death review panel become permanent.