By Tim Groves
Nathan Boryskavich died after RCMP officers pepper sprayed and kicked him. Robert Dziekański died after being tasered. Everett Patrick died following injuries from a police dog. Paul Kayuryuk died in RCMP custody when refused medical treatment. Julian Jones was shot and killed by the RCMP. The list goes on and on.
There is no comprehensive database of those killed by police in Canada and the exact number of people killed by the RCMP is not clear. A report by the CBC identifies 118 times that the RCMP used deadly force between 2000 and 2017, and of these 37 of the slain had been unarmed.
However the Mounties’ own statements suggest the number killed is higher than this. An RCMP spokesperson told the Tyee that on average 20 people die each year while in RCMP custody, including an average of 8 that die from gunshot wounds.
Rising Crime of Killings by the RCMP
The number of people shot by the RCMP has been increasing in recent years. The RCMP shot 15 people in 2020, 26 people in 2021, and 35 people in 2022. Not all of these shootings were lethal.
The RCMP operates primarily outside of urban areas and a large number of those killed by the RCMP are Indigenous. A report by CTV identifies 25 indigenous people shot and killed by the RCMP between 2017 and 2020, and determined that indigenous people are over 10 times more likely to be shot and killed by police than white people.
When officers do kill people they are often not held accountable.
It is very rare that RCMP officers are charged for these deaths. A CTV report from 2020 investigated 100 people shot and killed by police and found only one had led to criminal charges against an officer. In 53 cases the officers were cleared, and in 47 cases the matter remained under investigation.
A CBC study of police use of deadly force from 2000 to 2017 found that of 461 cases, criminal charges were laid in only 18, and only 2 convictions had taken place. Some of the cases were still before the courts, and the study was of all police in Canada not just the RCMP.
Saying Their Names
Although far from a comprehensive list, here are some stories of people who died at the hands of the RCMP.
Felix Taqqauga was a man from Nunavut. Police were sent to his house on a wellness check in 2012. He spoke to them but when he refused to be handcuffed they tased him, and then an RCMP officer shot him multiple times. No charges were laid against the police.
Lance Cutarm, a member of the Ermineskin Cree Nation in Alberta, was shot and killed by an RCMP officer in 2013 when police attempted to arrest his father. An inquest found no wrongdoing in the officers actions, made no recommendation to prevent similar deaths, and dismissed the family’s claims the death was racially motivated.
Dale Culver, was a 35 year old man from the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en Nations in BC. In 2017 the RCMP approached him suspecting him of casing vehicles, pepper sprayed him during his arrest. He developed trouble breathing and asked for help and died shortly afterward. Five officers were charged in relation to the incident.
Nathan Boryskavich, a 43 years old from The Pas, Manitoba, was kicked and pepper sprayed by 5 RCMP officers and died of a broken neck artery in 2008. However, even though an inquest into his death found that the RCMP did not follow protocol, it determined that he was responsible for his own death and that the RCMP were not to blame.
Patric Everett, a 42 year old from Babine Lake First Nation in BC, suffered injuries from a RCMP dog in 2020 that was deployed during his arrest. These injuries were initially described as minor wounds, but he had a seizure in his cell and was brought back to hospital where he was found to be bleeding in his brain. In March 2022 an investigation found “that reasonable grounds exist to believe that an officer may have committed offenses” in the incident. The BC prosecution service was reviewing the matter.
Clayton Donnelly, from the Okanagan in interior BC, experienced an episode of mental illness in 2019 and was tasered by police during his arrest. He died in hospital when his heart stopped.
Waylon Jesse Edey, was a 39 year old from Yahk, BC. Despite being unarmed he was fatally shot in 2015 during an attempted traffic stop. The officer involved was charged with manslaughter.
Paul Kayuryuk was an Inuit man from Baker Lake who was found unconscious by the RCMP in 2012. Assuming that he was drunk they sent him to the drunk tank rather and did not provide him with medical treatment until the next day. He died in hospital of a stroke.
Julian Jones was a 28 year old man from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation on Vancouver Island, opened the door to police and was shot dead in 2021. Members of the community said officers had been requested for a wellness check, but the RCMP claimed they were responding to someone being held captive. An investigation found no fault in the officers actions.
Kyaw Naing Din, died on his 55th birthday in 2019. His sister had called police and asked for assistance in bringing Din, who has schizophrenia, to hospital in Maple Ridge, BC. The RCMP told the family that he threw a dumb bell at them and they first tasered him and then shot him. An investigation found the incident was “tragic” but that police should not be charged.
Jeffrey Hughes, was a 48-year old from Nanaimo, BC. Police were called to his apartment in 2009 due to a noise complaint, and were informed that he was mentally ill. When he emerged carrying a flare gun, which he did not fire, police shot him 3 times.