The Independent Investigations Office is questioning the RCMP's account of what happened during a fatal police-involved shooting near Valemount 19 months ago.
Contrary to the RCMP's claim that an exchange of gunfire occurred, an IIO investigation "identified no independent evidence to suggest the exchange of gunfire took place," the agency said in an online posting.
John Robert Buehler was shot and killed and daughter Shanna injured during the evening of Sept. 17, 2014 when members of the North District RCMP and a member of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit were called to Kinbasket Lake just south of Valemount.
It had been alleged Buehler and his daughter, Shanna had been illegally occupying a cabin in the area.
Buehler had also failed to appear in court on Sept. 4 to face charges related to an alleged June 19 incident in which he was suspected of threatening to unleash attack dogs on an passerby. A warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued.
The IIO is a civilian-based watchdog that investigates incidents of police-involved serious injuries and deaths for wrongdoing under any enactment, including the Criminal Code.
In the April 22 posting, the agency said it has sent a report to Crown counsel on the matter. It does so whenever it believes an officer may have committed an offence.
The threshold for referral to Crown is lower for the IIO than for other law enforcement agencies in the province and the IIO does not make a recommendation on whether charges should be approved or what charges Crown counsel should consider.
In approving charges, Crown counsel must be satisfied not only that an offence may have been committed, but that the commission of an offence can be proven in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
Given the circumstances, the IIO will not be making its report public.
Shanna Buehler, meanwhile, continues to face several charges from the alleged incidents.
- with files from the Rocky Mountain Goat
