Please note: This story was updated on Tuesday, Sept. 20 to include a statement from the RCMP.
David Riche, who was hired to investigate the police-involved death of Donald Dunphy, has raised troubling new questions over the incident.
Riche, a former Supreme Court justice in the province, says his hands were tied, after the RCMP hired him to be an “independent observer” as it investigated the case in which, Dunphy, 59, was killed by a police officer in his Newfoundland home on Easter Sunday of last year.
“I wish I had the answers,” says Riche.
READ MORE: RCMP say no charges in fatal shooting of Newfoundland’s Don Dunphy
Despite an RCMP statement that Riche would be given “unfettered access” to its investigation, he says that wasn’t true.
“There were certain things I brought up and they said, “no, we can’t do that.”
Riche says he was forbidden from questioning witnesses, and forced to settle for statements obtained by the RCMP — including one from the only living eyewitness, the constable who pulled the trigger.
“These statements that I got from the RCMP…I didn’t look in their eyes and see whether or not they’re being truthful,” said Riche.
He questions why the officer, with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, visited Dunphy’s home, alone — refusing an offer for backup.
He disagreed with the RCMP about whether the rifle Dunphy reportedly pulled on the officer was in a position to be fired although he won’t discuss his own theory.
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“You’ll have to get that 23-page report, that’s what gives the answer,” Riche told Global News, from his living room in St. John’s.
But the Mounties won’t release the report publicly and they’re also sitting on their own, original report.
They’ve only released conclusions of another report, by Alberta investigators — who agree with them, there should be no criminal charges laid.
Justice Riche says the officer was alone with Dunphy’s body for about a half-hour but his actions remain unclear.
“There didn’t seem to be a big lot of questioning done as to what exactly happened during that period, other than I remember him saying he had to get a drink of water.”
The officer recreated his actions for investigators, twice, because of problems with a video camera the first time.
In a statement to Global News, the RCMP said it understands that public’s desire to know more about investigation.
But the statement added Riche’s job was not to investigate the handling of the case, only to observe the RCMP’s investigation.
“Judge Riche was asked to report on his observations regarding the independence and thoroughness of the investigation,” the statement read.
But Riche believes police cannot be impartial, or seen to be impartial, when they investigate other police.
The details of what really happened may always remain a mystery.
“The problem is, that, as they say, dead men tell no tales.”
Despite 18 years as a full-time judge, he’s troubled by questions he’s unable to answer. He says he’s been unable to sleep properly.
“I don’t know if I’m over it yet,” he says, his voice cracking. “It just, uh, is like a cloud that you can’t get through.”
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has promised a public inquiry into Dunphy’s death in the near future.
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