Canada watchdog to review police's handling of indigenous man's killing
Colten Boushie, 22, shot by white farmer later acquitted of murder
Independent investigator will consider whether race played role
Ashifa Kassam in Toronto
@ashifa_k
Wed 7 Mar 2018 15.50 EST
A police watchdog will review how Royal Canadian Mounted Police handled the shooting of a young Cree man by a white farmer, enlisting an independent investigator to delve into a case that has ignited racial tensions in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission a federal government agency tasked with examining complaints about the RCMP announced on Tuesday that it would investigate the 2016 death of Colten Boushie and the events that followed.
The 22-year-old was shot in the head after he and four friends from Red Pheasant First Nation drove on to a rural property in Saskatchewan. A lawyer for Gerald Stanley, the farmer who was holding the semi-automatic pistol that killed Boushie, described the shooting as a freak accident.
Last month Stanley, 56, was acquitted of second-degree murder by a seemingly all-white jury in a verdict that sparked rallies across the country and prompted calls for justice reform.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/07/colten-boushie-canada-police-investigation-watchdog-cree