The common-law wife of a man shot by an RCMP officer on a Nova Scotia First Nations reserve said Monday she was "shocked" to learn that an investigation into the death concluded that no charges would be laid.

John Andrew Simon died after he was shot by an RCMP officer at a home on the Wagmatcook reserve on Dec. 2, 2008.

Simon's family and police have both said he was drunk and suicidal at the time that the officer entered his home and fired his pistol.

Family members argue police didn't need to enter the residence and said they distrust the investigation into the shooting, which was carried out by Halifax Regional Police.

However, RCMP said at a news conference in Wagmatcook on Monday that the Halifax police probe determined the officer who fired the gun did so in self-defence.

"[The officer fired] after reasonably perceiving that John Simon posed a threat of grievous bodily harm or death and believing that he could not otherwise preserve himself from grievous bodily harm other than by using deadly force," said Halifax police Supt. Mike Burns, the lead investigator in the case.

RCMP Chief Supt. Blair McKnight said the RCMP regret Simon's death.

"While tragic, it was an event that involved a person who was under the influence of alcohol, with access to firearms and experiencing emotional distress," McKnight said.

He said the Mounties recognized "there is an opportunity to improve existing policies and procedures" and would review their policies on entering buildings in suicide cases.

"We are committed to take the necessary steps [in] areas we can improve upon to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future," McKnight said.

However, Simon's common-law wife, Patsy MacKay, said she was dissatisfied with the conclusions of the probe and called it "a joke" as she sat beside Simon's mother at the band council office.

"We were very shocked today to learn the officer won't be facing any charges," she said. "The information they gave us didn't match up with him not being charged.

"I thought the whole thing sounded ridiculous. We thought John would have justice."

Band hired own investigator

Gary Richard, the lawyer for the band, said that police had informed the family earlier in the day that Simon had been unarmed and sitting on the toilet when the officer first entered the house.

Richard said police also told the family that Simon had moved from the toilet area to the kitchen, where he held a shotgun.

However, Richard said the family and the band aren't satisfied by that explanation, in part because they can't understand why the officer felt it necessary to enter the house on his own.

Richard said the band needs to see the details of the investigation and the reasoning that led to the decision not to pursue charges.

"Until I see the analysis that underlies the decision not to lay charges, for the life of me, I can't figure out how that decision came about," said the lawyer.

He said the band intends to hire a private investigator to carry out its own inquiry.

MacKay said the police told the family they had to enter the house because they perceived that Simon posed a threat to himself.

"I don't know how a man in the bathroom, unarmed, having a cigarette is a threat," she said.

McKnight refused to take any questions following the news conference and said police had provided the family with "as much information as we can while still upholding the privacy law of Canada."

"We are not permitted to release a copy of this investigation or the details," he said.

As McKnight and Burns left the building, several residents of the small reserve in central Cape Breton shouted at them.

"If it was a white person, it would be a different story," shouted one woman as the officers walked upstairs in the band council's headquarters.