There was a guilty plea to begin the Stacy DeBungee death investigation hearing this week.

Staff Sargeant Shawn Harrison made the move on the offence of failing to perform duties according to the Police Services Act based on the agreed statement of facts.

Harrison entered a not guilty plea on the second charge of failing to treat or protect people equally during the case.

Sargeant Shawn Whipple, when read the charges, pled not guilty on Monday.

The 41-year-old Anishinaabe man was found in the McIntyre River in October 2015.

An investigation deemed the death non-criminal, but those results came just a day after his body was discovered.

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) planned in October 2021 to launch their own investigation after a request from the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.

DeBungees’ passing was singled out in a 2018 Broken Trust report with claims of how cases involving Indigenous people are handled by police.

You can view the livestream here

More to come…