An independent watchdog says the RCMP mishandled every aspect of a case involving a Nova Scotia woman who had reported being sexually assaulted by a neighbour who later killed her.
Days before 58-year-old Susan Butlin was shot in her home, police had dismissed her plea for help, according to the report released Thursday by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission.
“The commission found serious deficiencies in the handling of every aspect of Ms. Butlin’s case.”
Susan was murdered on Sept. 17, 2017, by Ernie Ross (Junior) Duggan, who lived next door to her in the rural community of Bayhead, N.S., along the northern coast of mainland Nova Scotia.
Duggan shot Butlin inside her home about a month after she told police he had sexually assaulted her and was harassing and intimidating her. Police told Butlin there were no grounds to lay criminal charges against Duggan and instructed her to apply for a peace bond.
The commission’s investigation into Butlin’s case found that police failed to appreciate the seriousness of the escalating violence — even after Duggan’s spouse had called 911 to report that she was afraid her husband would kill Butlin.
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On Aug. 21, 2027, Duggan’s spouse told police her husband had a firearm and had told her Butlin would “have to die” if she didn’t abandon her court application against him, according to the watchdog’s report.
“Mr. Duggan had kicked in the door of his home when he realized his spouse was calling 911. She had fled the home barefoot. She told the RCMP that her husband had been spiralling down and that she was afraid he would use a firearm against himself and others.”
RCMP members with the Bible Hill, N.S., attachment arrested Duggan for impaired driving and released him the next day. The report found that police did not question Duggan’s spouse neither about the firearm nor the threat to Butlin’s life that she had reported.
Officers did not attempt to search for a firearm, the report says, nor did they arrest Duggan for uttering a threat or kicking in the door. Police “failed to take measures to protect Ms. Butlin’s safety, and they failed to warn Ms. Butlin about the danger she was in.”
Three days before she was murdered, police informed Butlin during a meeting at the detachment that the investigation into her sexual assault complaint was officially closed.
During this meeting, “Butlin was questioned about the alleged inconsistencies in her peace bond application. She was told that police need to consider the offence of public mischief when faced with ‘conflicting stories’ from a party,” the report said.
“Ms. Butlin learned after the meeting that public mischief is the offence of falsely accusing a person of a crime. She was devastated.”
Dan Morrow, Nova Scotia RCMP assistant commissioner and commanding officer, said in an emailed statement, “we failed Ms. Butlin and her family at multiple levels.”
“It’s clear our investigation was inadequate and different steps could have been taken,” Morrow said, adding that since Butlin’s murder the RCMP have updated training for sexual assault investigations and modified supervision and oversight protocols for those cases.
“Our investigations are now reviewed at every turn to ensure they are on track and that survivors’ needs are prioritized,” he said.
The Nova Scotia RCMP has accepted all 79 recommendations included in the report.
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