Ontario’s police watchdog has launched an investigation into the conduct of Chief Jennifer Evans and other Peel Regional Police officers after the surviving relatives of three family members found dead years apart in their home alleged that police failed to adequately investigate the first two deaths. Police did not treat the 2009 death of Bill Harrison or the 2010 death of Bridget Harrison as homicides until their son, Caleb Harrison, was murdered on Aug. 23, 2013, five years ago this week.The Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) is investigating the family’s complaint in two parts: one looking into the actions of officers involved in the investigations, another probing the conduct of Chief Jennifer Evans. “The things we learned at trial and since have clearly concerned us,” said Wanda Jamieson, a Harrison family friend. “We need to get to the facts behind what went wrong.”The Police Services Act requires the OIPRD to send complaints about chiefs to the relevant police services board, which has the power to decide whether the watchdog investigates. The fact that the investigation into Evans’s conduct proceeded means that the Peel Police Services Board must have determined “that there may be misconduct,” according to an explanation of the screening process on the OIPRD website.Evans, a longtime Peel cop who became chief in 2012, came under fire earlier this year for delays and silence surrounding an internal Peel police review meant to examine what went wrong in the Harrison death investigations. She later apologized for her actions.READ MORE: The investigation into the Harrison murdersPeel police have “full confidence in our review process,” a police spokesperson said in a statement. “We are aware the OIPRD is conducting a review and we welcome any additional insights it may offer.”All three members of the Harrison family died in their Mississauga home on Pitch Pin ...
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