RCMP Chief Supt. Blair McKnight said the force could not rush another police agency's investigation. (CBC)The RCMP will not take disciplinary action against an officer who fatally shot a Wagmatcook, N.S., man because the force took too long to start its investigation.

RCMP Chief Supt. Blair McKnight told a news conference Friday that the force didn't start the review within a year as it's required to by law, because it did not have enough information to hold a code of conduct investigation until the Halifax Regional Police investigation was completed.

That report was released to the RCMP in December 2009.

By the time the RCMP launched a disciplinary review in January into Const. Jeremy Frenette's actions in the 2008 shooting of John Simon, too much time had passed.

McKnight said the RCMP could not ask the Halifax police to expedite their investigation.

"We couldn't be seen to say, get this done," he said. "Had we influenced it, if we'd encouraged them to complete it faster than they had the ability to get it done, we would be perceived as potentially trying to hide the criminal investigation or change the outcome of the criminal investigation."

McKnight added that the independence of the investigation needed to be maintained.

The Halifax police report, which was obtained by Simon's family through an access to information request, said RCMP officers went to Simon's home on the Cape Breton First Nations reserve in 2008 in response to a call that he was suicidal.

The report said Frenette entered the home despite orders to the contrary, and shot Simon when he reached for a gun. The investigation concluded that Frenette acted in self-defence.

"Gap" in process blamed

McKnight's comments came a day after the RCMP revealed it would not be taking any disciplinary action against Frenette.

"We did start a discipline review. Based on the amount of time that had passed from the time of the incident until the review was initiated, it was very questionable, our ability to continue with that process," RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Brigdit Legere said on Thursday.

A review must be completed within one year of the incident. The HRP investigation report was released one year and 12 days after Simon was shot and the RCMP then started its internal review.

"It was a gap in our process," said Legere.

Patsy MacKay, John Simon's common-law wife, is calling for a public inquiry into her partner's death. (CBC)Simon's widow said her husband would be alive today if the officer had not entered the 44-year-old man's home.

"I thought there would be something. Some small, token, gesture," Patsy Mackay said Thursday.

"Everybody, every single person who knows anything about the story, knows how it went down. There's just not going to be justice, you know they're not taking any blame, nobody's sorry. There's nothing anybody can do about that."

A senior RCMP officer outside the province is reviewing the criminal investigation and McKnight said that could produce recommendations on improved training for officers in managing critical incidents.

'This is unbelievable'

The announcement met with an incredulous reaction from the Wagmatcook First Nation.

"This is unbelievable," said Brian Arbuthnot, director of operations for the Wagmatcook First Nation's band council. "It goes to the heart of the mismanagement of the RCMP from top to bottom."

Arbuthnot said the community will be stunned to learn that an administrative error resulted in the review being dropped.

"How can you miss doing disciplinary action in a man's death?" he asked. "Words go beyond how I feel about this right now. It's negligence in the highest order."

Archie Kaiser, an expert on criminal law at Dalhousie University, said the RCMP is not providing the public with an adequate explanation.

"Unfortunately, I think the decision not to proceed with disciplinary proceedings will further undermine public confidence in the way in which the RCMP handled this investigation," he said.

John Simon was shot in his home in Wagmatcook on Dec. 2, 2008. (CBC)Frenette shot Simon dead on Dec. 2, 2008, after the officer climbed through Simon's window and confronted the allegedly drunk and suicidal man.

A report by the Halifax police into the incident concluded Frenette didn't violate any laws and shot Simon in self-defence. The report quoted Frenette saying, "I felt he was gonna shoot me."

But that report also said Frenette was "in contravention of established RCMP policy," and that his supervisor instructed him to stay out of Simon's house.

After arriving at the scene, Frenette had moved closer to the home, up onto a deck and had looked inside the door and windows, according to the report.

Frenette asked twice for permission to enter the home but it was not granted, though he "decided to act alone on this opportunity to catch John Simon unaware," the report said.

The portion of the report that explains why Frenette felt he had to enter the house is blacked out, which Kaiser said raises more questions about the shooting.

"This underlines the importance of having a full public inquiry into this incident and the issues it exposes," he said.

Simon's widow said she was informed some time ago that disciplinary actions against Frenette, who has been moved to another community, were unlikely.

"It's so obvious to anybody except the RCMP what happened. He acted against direct orders. What kind of policing is that, where you don't obey orders?" Mackay asked.

Provincial Justice Minister Ross Landry has ruled out launching a public inquiry, saying it wouldn't "necessarily address" the concerns of the Wagmatcook First Nation.

With files from The Canadian Press