‘Unacceptable’ for officer who killed Clyde River man to avoid inquest: Coroner
Judge orders adjournment at request of Abraham Natanine’s family
An inquest into the 2020 death of Abraham Natanine has been adjourned because one of the three officers involved in the incident has not confirmed he will participate. (File photo)
A public inquest into an RCMP officer’s fatal shooting of a Clyde River man in 2020 has been adjourned because the officer who fired the fatal shot in the incident has not confirmed he will participate.
Jerry Natanine wants the officer who killed his son Abraham Natatine to answer questions about the May 2020 incident that led to Abraham’s death. (Photo courtesy of Clara Noah)
Abraham Natanine was 31 when he died on May 6, 2020, after Cpl. Bryan Vaughan, shot him. The shooting happened after officers responded to a disturbance at a home at around 11 p.m. the evening prior.
In 2021, Ottawa police investigated and concluded there were no grounds for charges. The police investigation also concluded Vaughan fired the fatal shot, said Andrew Morrison, the lawyer representing the Natanine family.
Nunavut law requires a public inquest into deaths involving an on-duty police officer. The inquest into Natanine’s death was scheduled to start on Oct. 5 and end on Oct. 9.
“I take their investigation at face value, but I still want to ask questions to the officer that was involved in the shooting,” said Jerry Natanine, Abraham’s father, in an interview.
Morrison asked a judge on Sept. 28 to adjourn the inquest after Nunavut Chief Coroner Marianna Cervantes informed him it would go ahead despite Vaughan’s presence being unconfirmed.
A judge granted that adjournment on Sept. 29.
The purpose of the inquest is to shine a light on what happened that night, which Morrison said can’t happen without each officer’s participation.
Cervantes declined to comment on the reason, when reached by Nunatsiaq News.
The Nunavut Coroner’s Act gives the chief coroner power to summon witnesses for inquests.
“The RCMP officer that was involved in the shooting hasn’t been summoned,” said Jerry Natanine.
“Summoning RCMP officers that are involved in shootings, that’s the norm. That’s normal for coroners inquests. It’s been done before in Nunavut.”
Natanine’s family wants to question Vaughan over discrepancies about what occurred on the day Abraham Natanine was killed, including Abraham’s words and conduct, the alleged weapon and the number of shots fired.
“Questions also remain about the officers’ actions after the shooting,” says the request for adjournment Morrison filed with the court.
The two other officers who were present when Natanine was shot had confirmed their attendance as of Sept. 18, according to court documents.
Nunatsiaq News reached out to Matthew Scott, the lawyer representing the involved RCMP officers. He declined to comment, redirecting requests for comment to RCMP.
Nunavut RCMP will participate in the inquest if called upon to provide evidence, said Sgt. George Henrie, spokesperson for Nunavut RCMP, although he said he had no information he could share about the participation of officers involved.
“Our family is not seeking to prevent the inquest from occurring,” Jerry Natanine said in an affidavit. “We seek a short adjournment so that reasonable steps can be taken to secure the meaningful participation of a witness whom the chief coroner has already described as central.”
Court documents also note RCMP’s reasons for Vaughan to not attend, which include concerns about his mental health and prior threats from community members. Vaughan is no longer employed with the RCMP, so he cannot be compelled by RCMP to attend, say the court documents.
“It is not acceptable for Cpl. Vaughan to avoid taking part in the inquest,” Cervantes noted in a Sept. 18 letter to RCMP’s counsel.
“Unless the RCMP provide adequate reasoning and evidence that Cpl. Vaughan cannot attend, initiating contempt proceedings is available under sec. 46 of the Coroner’s Act.”
Cervantes has offered various accommodations, such as a single-day attendance, a support person, and an advance hearing to set ground rules.
Natanine’s father also said does not believe enough evidence was brought forward to assess the validity of Vaughan’s mental health concerns, and suggested the inquest could be good for Vaughan, too.
“This can be a good closure, for the family, for all of us, and for the RCMP officer himself too,” he said. “If the officer is having issues psychologically, I would imagine he would want closure from this as well.”
If he is no longer employed by the RCMP, there is nothing the RCMP can do to secure his attendance unless the coroner gives them a subpoena to serve on him, I think it’s unfair to be blaming the RCMP about this at this stage.