THUNDER BAY -- Thunder Bay Police Services Chief Darcy Fleury always felt there was more to the story surrounding the events that led to the death of a 21-year-old woman in Thunder Bay.
On Friday, Colin Woods, President of the Thunder Bay Police Association, said that the clarification from the province’s Special Investigations Unit helped paint a clearer picture of what transpired that day.
“While I can't really speak too much about it because the SIU is still ongoing with their investigation, what I can say is I was very pleased that the SIU came out with that second release,” Fleury said Tuesday.
“It allowed them to offer a little bit more detail as to the exact nature of the call, and how that occurrence came into the Thunder Bay Police Service and the way we managed it. I was happy to see that they were able to put that piece out and change the tone of the original piece.”
Further details on Jan. 11 clarified that after reviewing the police communications recordings, the SIU confirmed the first call "was not in relation to violence in the home involving the woman."
On Jan. 3, the SIU initially reported that Thunder Bay Police had received a 911 call about a domestic disturbance, followed by a second call cancelling the request for police.
Jenna Ostberg from Bearskin Lake First Nation was found dead in a Ray Boulevard residence in the early hours of the morning of Dec. 30.
Fleury recognized that there was a lot of emotion after the fact.
“I think it's important to recognize that when people have the impression that nothing is being done on such a serious situation, I can understand that that would cause concern and frustration.
"When the second release came out, it put that to rest. People are free to express their opinions and what they believe, but this just goes to show again the continual work that has happened on all of our parts to make sure the message is getting across properly - and that we can work together to ensure things run smoothly.”
The investigation remains active.
