Five months after a Summerside man was shot and killed during an altercation with police the investigation into his death remains ongoing.
Jeremy Stephens, 32, was shot by Summerside Police Service officers on May 27, as they tried to arrest him for his alleged involvement in a violent break and enter at a local hotel room the night before. Officers took him to hospital, but Stephens died a short time later.
Police said Stephens violently resisted arrest.
Because the death involved police, the Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) was called in to investigate. The probe has been ongoing ever since.
When asked recently for an update on the investigation, SiRT Director Felix Cacchione, issued a statement to the Journal Pioneer.
“This investigation is still ongoing. We are awaiting the arrival of expert reports. Once these have been received and reviewed our investigation will be completed and a report issued. Unfortunately, I cannot provide a time frame as to when this will be done,” said Cacchione.
He added that it’s actually only one specific report that he is waiting on before his investigation can proceed, though he declined to say exactly what it entailed.
Summerside Police Services Chief David Poirier said his department is also awaiting the SiRT report. He added he is limited in how much he can comment on the situation until the investigation is completed.
“We are prohibited from commenting on the incident until this investigation is completed and its results are publicly announced. Summerside Police Service extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Mr. Stephens,” he said.
“As a community police service, our main goal is to keep Summerside a safe place for our residents.”
Julie Kirkpatrick, legal counsel for Stephens’s mother, Gilda Stephens, said she has no more information on the case than what SiRT provided to the Journal Pioneer. She added that her client is eager for the process to progress.
“The family is anxiously awaiting the conclusion of the SiRT investigation and looks forward to receiving the report,” said Kirkpatrick.
As for who will get the document once it’s completed the report will be sent to the office of P.E.I. Justice Minister Jordan Brown, Chief Poirier’s office and the Office of the Police Commissioner, which will post the report publicly on its website within a few days after receiving it.
