A former Mission Mountie has been given a written reprimand and docked one day’s pay for failing to properly investigate a shots fired call more than two years ago which left Lisa Dudley clinging to life inside her Greenwood Drive home while her boyfriend, Guthrie McKay, lay dead in the same house.
“That’s all her life was worth,” said Dudley’s mom Rosemarie Surakka.
It was hard for the Dudley’s family to remain silent during the code of conduct hearing last Friday, but protocol had to be respected, according to Dudley’s stepdad Mark Surakka, who was disappointed with the outcome.
The adjudication board heard an agreed statement of facts before making a ruling, however, Mark points out a number of key issues were omitted.
White responded to a shots fired complaint on Sept. 18, 2008, but he neglected to properly investigate the neighbourhood when he arrived or speak with the caller. He left the scene after only being there for about 10 minutes and didn’t follow up the next day.
“911 is a lifeline to people,” said Mark. “That was Lisa’s and it was neglected.”
Two RCMP reviews were conducted, but it was civilian investigators from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team who uncovered an audio recording of White laughing with a dispatcher about the call before he attended.
Had the board been presented with that on Friday, the Surakkas believe White’s punishment would have been different.
According to a report from the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, White had already predetermined the validity of the shots fired call before he even attended the neighbourhood.
A neighbour found Dudley four days later, but she died from her injuries en route to hospital.
Since then, Dudley’s parents have been fighting for answers and systematic changes.
As a result, the RCMP has adopted a policy to treat shots fired calls as a priority and attending officers must contact the caller.
Also, B.C.’s new Solicitor General Shirley Bond announced this week police will no longer be investigating police. Instead, a civilian unit will be established by the end of the year to probe cases involving serious injury or death.
But the fight still isn’t over for the Surakkas, who are still waiting for a coroner’s inquest.
– with files from CTV
