A northern Manitoba father says his family nonetheless does not have any answers to why or how his daughter died in RCMP custody final 12 months.
The investigation into Janine Walker’s dying stays open, however Vernon Highway says he hasn’t even seen her post-mortem report.
Janine Walker was 23 when she was detained by RCMP in Chemawawin Cree Nation, about 400 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, in March final 12 months.
She was arrested for being intoxicated, and 15 hours later she was discovered useless in her cell.
“I was stunned,” stated Vernon Highway, Janine’s father, about how he felt when he realized his daughter was useless.
“I just went crazy, literally. I just dropped, screaming, yelling ‘Why?'”
Since then he has been on a search for answers. He does not even know her explanation for dying.
Walker was a loving mom who was all the time smiling and was near family, Highway stated. Her life revolved round her 4 youngsters, and he or she was pleasant with everybody in the neighborhood, he stated.
Highway was along with his daughter when RCMP officers picked her up. She was arguing together with her boyfriend over a misplaced cellphone and officers confirmed up.
Walker had been ingesting the night time earlier than, however Highway did not suppose she was intoxicated.
“And then that’s when the cops just took her and said, ‘Well, we’re going to have to take you into the drunk tank if you don’t want to co-operate,'” Highway stated.
That was the final time he noticed her alive.
He stopped by the detachment to see if he may choose her up the following morning and as an alternative was greeted by two nurses.
Highway thought possibly he needed to signal some papers, however as an alternative he walked into an interview room and sat in entrance of two RCMP officers who advised him his daughter was gone.
Manitoba’s Independent Investigation Unit was referred to as in to investigate Walker’s death. They examine all critical incidents involving police in Manitoba.
Over a 12 months later, the investigation stays open, however the police watchdog declined to remark.
Newz9 reported Monday on the shut of the inquest into the dying of John Ettawakapow. The 54-year-old died in an RCMP cell in The Pas in 2019 after he was arrested for public intoxication.
While that inquest introduced answers to his family in The Pas, the Walkers stay in the darkish.
“It really bothers me every day, not knowing what happened to her, and I vowed and promised her kids that I will get them answers,” Highway stated.
Since her dying, Highway stop his job because the assistant supervisor on the native retailer. He continuously feels the urge to go away the neighborhood to flee the recollections of his daughter.
“I get very lonely around here. I can’t stay here anymore. I have a hard time stabilizing,” he stated.
The chief of Chemawawin Cree Nation says the neighborhood feels ignored.
“There’s not any kind of reports coming to us. There’s no kind of information coming to us,” stated Chief Clarence Easter.
“The RCMP is very tight-lipped. They don’t say anything. I’m assuming the investigation is ongoing, but nobody’s talking to us.”
Howard Morton, who from 1992-95 was director of the Special Investigations Unit, Ontario’s police watchdog, stated there must be extra consciousness about what households undergo whereas ready for these investigations to be accomplished.
“Do they fully realize the agony?” he requested. “To not know … that really causes a lot of agony for families and friends of the deceased.”
