The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) probe into the officer-involved shooting at the Starlight Casino in 2012 fell short, according to a review completed by a former RCMP Superintendent, and published on Wednesday.
On Nov. 8 of that year, Mehrdad Bayrami was shot and killed following an hours-long standoff outside the New Westminster casino.
In 2014, Delta Police Cst. Jordan MacWilliams was charged in the death of Bayami, following an investigation by the IIO into the shooting, but those charges were later dropped.
After the Delta Police Association submitted a letter of complaint regarding the IIO’s investigation, the police watchdog appointed Doug Kiloh, a former RCMP Superintendent not connected to the Starlight Casino case, to put the initial investigation under a microscope.
His review says the investigation lacked in areas including interviews, evidence, the report to Crown Counsel and training, and has also made recommendations.
IIO Chief Civilian Director Ron MacDonald says the issues addressed in this report have been corrected and it has made more changes since.
“These issues won’t arise in the future, I mean, there’s always individual mistakes that can be made, but the general systemic issues are a thing of the past. The great thing about this report is it identifies the IIO is transparent, it’s prepared to acknowledge weaknesses and to correct them, and that going forward, the public of B.C. can be very confident in the strength of this organization.”
MacDonald adds that when the IIO’s initial investigation took place more than five years ago, it was very early in its life.
“We have very good investigative guidelines now that would ensure that all relevant witnesses are spoken to, we have improved systems to manage and process evidence, we have a new approach in presenting cases to Crown Counsel, we have developed a very effective, effective person strategy, we have developed in particular a tremendous training program.”
He says this review is about the IIO being transparent with its processes and that it has made significant changes since then for the future.