WARNING: This story contains references to domestic violence and suicide.
The Ontario Special Investigation Unit has cleared a Thunder Bay police officer of irregularities in the 2023 death of Jenna Ostberg, member of Bearskin Lake First Nation.
The SIU published its report on Tuesday, approximately 18 months after Ostberg’s body was found in a residence in the city of northwest Ontario.
Afterwards, his family stressed that Ostberg was a kind and talented woman who was a victim of domestic abuse, and criticized the response of the Thunder Bay police service (TBP) after emergency calls were made.
Siu’s investigation concentrated on the three calls 911 that were made before the officers attended the residence.
The first call was at 2:05 am et on December 30, 2023, and the person calling reported that Ostberg was an unwanted person at home where his partner lived, according to the report.
The second call to the police was at 2:23 am, asking to cancel the initial call for the service. The SIU says that the person who called believed that Ostberg had left the house and that they no longer needed the police to attend.
More than eight hours later, a third call to the police, at 10:34 am, Ostberg said was found in a bedroom closet. The paramedics responded and after resuscitation efforts, it was declared dead.
According to the Ostberg family, who identified his daughter as the subject of the Siu report, the guard dog told them that Ostberg died for suicide. CBC News communicated with the SIU to confirm this and was addressed to the Office of the main forensic of Ontario (Occ), which said it cannot provide details about the cause and shape of people’s deaths.
She was a women’s rights champion. He had faced difficulty, but also had the courage and courage to defend what was correct.– Vincent Ostberg, Jenna Ostberg’s father
The expert medical opinion for the case could not discern his death time. However, the SIU report “leaves the clear possibility” that Ostberg wants life some time after 2:42 am, its last known activity of cell phones.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of the police that may have resulted in death, serious injuries, sexual assault or the discharge of a firearm to a person.
“In his evidence evaluation, SIU director Joseph Martino determined that there were no reasonable reasons to believe that an officer committed a criminal offense in relation to the death of women,” says the report.
However, the report adds that there is a case that is presented that the subject of the subject (SO), the police officer of Thunder Bay, “failed in his duty of care” by not attending the residence even after the call was canceled at the service, given the fact that the Ostberg partner was arrested on July 14, 2023, by national aggression with a weapon.
His partner was released in a company with the condition that he did not contact Ostberg directly or indirectly, which means that Ostberg was not allowed to be at home the day she died.
“Taking into account that there is evidence that it was an occupied night at the Communications Center and that the officer would have been occupied with other matters, and that at least several minutes would have elapsed before the officers could attend the Chamber in any case, I cannot reasonably conclude in this condensed window of time that the negligence on the part of the OS transvised the limited care prescribed by the criminal law of the criminal, the report of the criminal.
Complaint made to the Police Inspector
Due to the Ostberg family concerns about the way in which the TBP handled the case, A complaint was filed to the Ontario Police InspectorRyan Teschner.
In October, Teschner announced that it would evaluate how TBPS conduct death investigations and lack of persons, and their fulfillment of the police legislation of the province. In his annual report published on Tuesday, said this inspection “It is expected to be completed at the end of 2025”.
With Siu’s investigation completed, the TBPS will begin “its administrative review required in accordance with section 81 of the Community Security and Police Law,” said the TBPS in a statement on Tuesday.
“The purpose of administrative investigation is to review the conduct of the members, the planned surveillance and the procedures, all in relation to the incident. This administrative review will be informed to the Tunder Bay Police Services Board at the end.”
Ostberg’s parents say she was admired for her sense of fashion, musical talent and Woodlands -style paintings. Spring before his death, he had graduated from a university access program of a year in Confederation College.
“He was a champion for women’s rights. He had faced difficulty, but also had the courage and courage to defend what was correct,” said his father, Vincent Ostberg, to CBC News a few days after his death.
CBC News has been in contact with the family since the SIU report was published and told him that they are not interested in doing an interview at this time.
‘Complexity’ of the Research Related Report: SIU
Three researchers were assigned to the SIU caseand six civil witnesses and three witnesses of service employees were interviewed. The police officer in question declined to be interviewed or provide notes for the Siu investigation.
He Siu Its objective is to complete the investigations within 120 days. According to his report 2023-2024, he fulfilled this objective in 89.3 percent of cases.
The agency acknowledged the delay in publishing its report on the Ostberg case, saying that “it was the result of the complexity of the investigation and the pressures of resources between the research contingent in the SIU and the director of the director.”
The SIU said he received a report prepared by the Forensic Data Recovery Unit of the Ministry of the Attorney General of Compliance on June 9.
The evidence collected during the investigation includes captures of text message screen, an Ostberg cell phone exam, a toxicology report, which confirmed that it had consumed alcohol, and the recordings of the calls to 911 and police dispatch reports.
Among other records, Ostberg’s post mortem exam and an expert medical opinion of the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service were also included, said the SIU.
Ostberg left his parents, three brothers, grandparents and many friends and family. After his death, his parents told CBC News that they wanted their daughter to be remembered as someone who matters.
“I want you to know that I was a good person and that it was a human to be treated with dignity,” said Vincent Ostberg.
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