Investigation into B.C. police shooting widens
Last Updated: Monday, October 26, 2009 | 4:29 PM PT
CBC News
Jeffrey Hughes, seen here in one of his video blog entries, was killed during a reported confrontation with police in Nanaimo on Friday. (CBC) An independent observer from the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP and a member of the force's office of investigative standards and practices were in Nanaimo, B.C., on the weekend in the aftermath of a fatal shooting by police of a purported white supremacist.
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit says its officers continue their investigation into the death Friday of 48-year-old Jeffrey Hughes.
Hughes was fatally shot following a standoff with RCMP officers responding to a noise complaint. He was shot after he came out with what police say appeared to be a weapon.
An inspector from the Victoria Police Department is also monitoring the investigation.
Hughes was a member of a white supremacist group called Northwest Front Canada, according to the Vancouver Sun.
Some online postings from related organizations accused the police of killing Hughes because of his political affiliations, a charge denied by police.
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Peter Thiessen said the man's death was "no execution and when all the facts are made public it will become apparent what happened."
Friday's shooting took place on Albert Street close to Nanaimo's Provincial Court Annex. (Submitted by Cam Scott) Last month, the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police asked the province to create an independent unit to investigate deaths involving police and serious allegations against officers, in order to ensure public confidence in such investigations.
The province did not commit to creating such a unit.
With files from The Canadian Press
