Donna Price struggled to explain the range of emotions she went through after being told her 29-year-old son was the man found dead in a public toilet outside Moncton City Hall on Tuesday, only to find out hours later The RCMP made a mistake.
“I don’t even know how to describe how I feel,” she said. “It’s almost like a tingling sensation.”
When police first informed her and her son’s stepfather, David Price, “it was the grief, it was the emotional trauma, it was the sadness.”
They faced the impossible task of breaking the devastating news to their son’s sister, two stepsisters and their elderly grandparents. While other relatives made travel arrangements, they began planning a funeral.
When Price sent someone to her son’s home late Tuesday afternoon to retrieve papers and a few mementos, they found “to their shock” that he was alive and well in his bedroom.
“They called and I’m sure I asked them 10 times,” Price said.
Her son, who she declined to name to protect his privacy, was equally shocked.
Based on visual identification from photo
“So there are two different emotions, from deep sorrow to joy but disbelief,” she said in an interview Friday after attorney Brian Murphy announced the family intended to “use legal remedies like a lawsuit and the commission’s procedure complaints”.
Price said their main goal is to raise awareness to make sure “this never happens to another family.”
They claim the RCMP did not follow normal identification protocols because they believed the dead man was homeless or a drug addict.
Lawyer Brian Murphy, who is representing the family, said it was a “shocking case of police negligence causing mental anguish”. (Shane Magee/CBC)
Price said she called police after learning her son was alive, seeking answers about what happened, and the officer she spoke with “wasn’t empathetic or sympathetic.”
Price asked if the police had ID when, just an hour after the body was found, they informed her it was her son. “Well, we’re not sure. Maybe it was stolen, or maybe’ – like it was so vague,” she said.
A few hours later, when the policeman visited her home in Dieppe, where the family had gathered, he told her she had no identification. Police had taken a photo of the victim, which was circulated among members, and one or more identified the man as Price’s son, who had been homeless in the past and was known to police.
“And so they did. No fingerprints. No DNA. There is nothing,” Price said.
You know, homeless people and addicts have families. They have a story. – Donna Price, mother
“What if this body had been found maybe in another area, or had stripes, or was very well dressed – would the same protocols have been taken?” I highly doubt it.
“I said, ‘You saw someone who’s homeless. Saw someone you thought was a drug addict? Ready. “Let’s just film it.” And I said, “Look at the trauma.”
Price asked the officer and his colleague if they had children.
“I said, ‘Put yourself in our shoes – the grief, the devastation.’
At that point, she said, the officer apologized and admitted they were “wrong.”
“I said, ‘Shame on you guys for not treating this like you would any other person.’ I said, “You know, homeless people and addicts have families. They have a history.”
New Brunswick RCMP “are aware of this matter and are in communication with family members regarding this situation involving [its] internal processes,” spokesman Corporal Hans Ouellette said in an emailed statement.
But he declined further comment.
“This is not a criminal matter, but it could soon be part of a trial,” he said. “Any evidence related to this matter may be presented as part of a judicial or internal proceeding.”
“The RCMP respects fair and impartial proceedings as part of the legal system. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment on evidence or other aspects that may be part of judicial or internal proceedings.’
Price said her family is strong and will get through this.
The name of the deceased has not been released.
Price expressed his condolences to his family and friends and called for more funds for the homeless and addicted.
“Housing is critical,” she said.
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