B.C.’s newly launched independent police watchdog is taking on its first case after a man allegedly died in a police shooting in Prince George, B.C. Monday.
Mounties said they became aware of a serious crime in a rural area southeast of the city Sunday morning, and then formed a perimeter to find the suspect.
Cpl. Craig Douglass said an altercation at the scene led to the suspect being shot and killed by police early Monday evening.
CTV News has since learned the standoff occurred at a property on Pinko Road owned by Gregory Matters, and neigbours have identified him as the man who was shot.
CTV News has been told Matters served as a peacekeeper in Bosnia and was eventually given a medical discharge due to a disability. Family members said he was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Court documents show a man by the same name received one day in jail and nine month’s probation after being convicted for uttering threats in June 2011. He was also prohibited from carrying weapons following a suspended sentence for uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm in 2010.
The Independent Investigations Office of BC that opened Monday is investigating the incident.
David Eby of the BC Civil Liberties Association said he was saddened to hear a new case emerged so quickly, but he wasn’t surprised about where it occurred.
“The north is really an area of a disproportionate number of deaths, unfortunately involving the police,” he said.
Many inexperienced officers work in the area, where many residents are plagued by issues of poverty and addiction, Eby added.
“We see a correlation between junior officers and these kinds of incidents, and we see a correlation between poverty, addiction issues and these kinds of incidents,” he said.
Although the watchdog group will not be opening old cases, Eby said it should because there are a lot of open wounds in northern communities regarding cases that many people feel are unresolved.
One high-profile case is the death of Clay Willey, who died nine years ago after being arrested, hog-tied and Tasered by police in Prince George.
