Peter de Groot’s family speaks out due to ‘ridiculous character defamation’

WATCH (above): A dramatic and emotional press conference today from the grieving family of a man shot by police in Slocan.  Jill Bennett reports. 

The family of Peter de Groot, who was shot and killed by police one week ago following an intense manhunt, held a press conference earlier today to speak out about the “ridiculous character defamation” of him.

At 1 p.m., immediate and extended family members gathered at a Vancouver law office to talk about the 45-year-old man and his personal life. De Groot’s sister, Danna, delivered an emotional statement on the family’s behalf.

READ MORE: Lockdown in Slocan enters third day as police relax restrictions

In a statement that took 30 minutes to read, Danna described her brother as a person who loved the outdoors, animals and excelled academically. The first of seven children he was interested in history and politics and eventually completed two degrees in Political Science and Theory.

She went on to say that contrary to reports, de Groot was not in the military, did not suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), did not drink or smoke, had never been arrested and was not schizophrenic.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: She went on to say that contrary to reports, de Groot was not in the military, did not suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), did not drink or smoke, had never been arrested and was not schizophrenic.

But de Groot did suffer from health issues, according to Danna. His health had taken a significant turn for the worse following a collapse at a construction site and later, an aneurysm — which resulted in six grand mal seizures, a significant loss of strength and an increased amount of fragility.

Staying with family members over the years de Groot was able to recover to the point where he was able to live on his own.

“He asserted his independence and moved away,” Danna said. “He went back to his childhood roots of reading and writing, trapping and farming” and moved to the Slocan area. She was also quick to emphasize that de Groot had never been violent.

After describing de Groot’s character and background, Danna went on to talk about the set of circumstances which unfolded after being notified of the manhunt for her brother.

WATCH: Hannah de Groot’s full statement

de Groot went on the run on Oct. 9 when he allegedly fired at officers who were responding to a report of a dispute between two people on a roadway. After shots were fired, de Groot allegedly ran into the surrounding forest and was not located until Oct. 13. The Independent Investigations Office confirmed de Groot sustained a gunshot injury “during an interaction with two members of the Emergency Response Team.”

Both Danna and her brother Miles travelled from Vancouver and Toronto after finding out he was wanted by the police. According to Danna, she spoke to the RCMP for more than two hours to explain de Groot’s physical disabilities and character. She suggested being onsite during the search with the hopes that if de Groot heard her voice, they may be able to resolve the situation peacefully. Instead, she said, she did not get the chance.

“The distilled facts to my mind are as follows — we were right there asking and he was executed instead of letting his family know he was found,” she said.

“The officers on the scene had to have had a complete and utter disregard for his life or they would have taken the time to save him. He was judged unworthy to live and he was randomly given the death penalty for no good reason. In short, we are outraged.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The distilled facts to my mind are as follows — we were right there asking and he was executed instead of letting his family know he was found," she said.</p><p>"The officers on the scene had to have had a complete and utter disregard for his life or they would have taken the time to save him. He was judged unworthy to live and he was randomly given the death penalty for no good reason. In short, we are outraged."

When asked for a comment by Global News, the RCMP said they understand the family is grieving but are unable to comment due to “the memorandum of understanding that exists with the IIOBC precluding us from any public comment while they actively investigate the incident.”