MONCTON, N.B. - The chief of the Assembly of First Nations is calling for a public inquiry into the fatal shooting of an aboriginal man in Cape Breton by an RCMP officer.
Chief Shawn Atleo said Wednesday the death of John Simon on the Wagmatcook First Nation and a subsequent police report into the shooting "justifies the need for a full and independent public inquiry."
"The family and the community will never have closure until an open and transparent process can provide a full understanding of the circumstances surrounding this tragic death," he said.
The province has rejected calls for a public inquiry, but Atleo said the assembly hopes Premier Darrell Dexter will reconsider the government's position.
Atleo was joined at a news conference in Moncton, N.B., by Wagmatcook Chief Lester Peck and regional Chief Rick Simon.
"We need to establish exactly what happened, or else the family and the community's confidence in law enforcement officials and the legal system will never be restored," Simon said in a statement. "I commend the perseverance and courage of Mr. Simon's family in their search for the path of truth."
John Simon was shot in his home by an RCMP officer in December 2008.
Peck says more than a year after the shooting, Wagmatcook residents still have more questions than answers.
An investigation into the shooting by Halifax Regional Police cleared RCMP Const. Jeremy Frenette of any wrongdoing while acknowledging the officer ignored an order from a superior to not enter Simon's home.
Frenette ended up shooting the allegedly suicidal and intoxicated man three times, though the Halifax police concluded he did so in self-defence.
The RCMP complaints commission has launched an investigation into the shooting and the national force's handling of the incident.
