Neglect of Families in Police Shooting Investigations Raised with SIU Director & Ontario Attorney General
THUNDER BAY, ON: Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Wapekeka First Nation Chief Brennan Sainnawap are raising serious concerns over the Special Investigations Unit’s (SIU) disrespectful handling of several related investigations into the deaths of three NAN members at the hands of the police.
Since 2024, NAN has been looking for accountability and answers into the death of Bruce Frogg, who was shot and killed by the OPP in Kenora. Those answers were not found in the SIU’s report on Frogg’s death, where the SIU failed to adequately answer the question the officer who shot Bruce posed: “I don’t know if that was the right call.”
The latest in this string of failures was the insensitive release last week of the report into the death of Tyresse Roundsky without any meaningful advance notice to the family or community, leaving them to find out the circumstances of Tyresse’s death on social media.
In a strongly worded letter to SIU Director Joseph Martino and Attorney General of Ontario Doug Downey, NAN questions the mishandling of the release of the Director’s report into Tyresse’s death, pointing to a broader pattern of systemic failings towards First Nations people and the continuing inability of the SIU to provide its services in a culturally competent manner.
“It is unacceptable that the family and community had to learn through the media that after being shot, their loved one was neglected for 40 minutes by a police officer who did not render aid. The SIU Director has demonstrated a complete lack of sensitivity in the release of its report, and instead of providing much needed oversight and accountability to the police, the release of the report has re-traumatized the family and a community already plagued with grief,” said NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler. “The SIU’s mishandling of the investigation into the death of Bruce Frogg in 2024 has set off a tragic series of events, and have lead to a crisis of confidence in the SIU.”
The police shooting of Tyresse Roundsky on July 31, 2025, at a youth centre in Wapekeka, follows the police shooting fatalities of two other individuals with ties to the community: Bruce Frogg (died June 25, 2024, in Kenora) and Bruce Frogg’s son, Eric Nothing (died July 22, 2025, in Deer Lake First Nation).
“Our teachings tell us to protect life, to care for one another, and to speak with honesty, yet our community now lives with fear and distrust toward policing because those values are not reflected in how our people are treated. If there is to be any healing or restoration of relationships, it must begin with truth, accountability, and respect for our families, our community, and this generation that has been impacted more deeply than we have ever known,” said Wapekeka First Nation Chief Brennan Sainnawap.
NAN worked for a decade with Ontario on the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019. A new era of policing was promised, reflective of the unique needs and histories of First Nations – including renewed accountability and cultural competencies within police oversight bodies. It is difficult to reconcile these promises with the downward trend the SIU has taken, particularly with respect to the Frogg investigation and the release of the report into Tyresse Roundsky’s death. Increased oversight and police accountability was long advocated for, but instead of increased accountability, the recent actions of the SIU have only served to increase mistrust in policing institutions.
The Leadership of NAN and Wapekeka will thoroughly review the Roundsky report before commenting on the SIU’s findings.
More information:
Letter to Special Investigations Unit and Attorney General of Ontario
SIU report into the fatal shooting of Tyresse Roundsky
For more information please contact:
Michael Heintzman,
Director of Communications
Cell: (807) 621-2790
mheintzman@nan.ca