2016 shooting in Saskatchewan, Canada
Colten Boushie (October 31, 1993 – August 9, 2016) was a 22-year-old Indigenous man of the Cree Red Pheasant First Nation who was fatally shot on a rural Saskatchewan farm by its owner, Gerald Stanley. Stanley stood trial for second-degree murder and for a lesser charge of manslaughter, but was ultimately acquitted in February 2018.
Boushie was a resident of the Cree Red Pheasant First Nation. After getting a flat tire, he and four friends drove to a farmhouse near Biggar, Saskatchewan, owned by Stanley. They had been drinking and had earlier tried to break in to a truck at another farm. One of the group tried to steal an ATV on the property while Stanley and his son were outside. Stanley's son ran to the vehicle and used a hammer to smash the windshield. The people in the SUV attempted to take off and crashed their vehicle into one of Stanley's cars. Stanley reacted by going into his home, returning with a TT-30 (Tokarev) handgun, and firing two shots into the air. Two of the individuals in the SUV fled on foot, while Boushie moved to the front seat. Stanley then approached the SUV – with Boushie in the driver's seat – when the gun discharged. Boushie was shot in the neck just below the ear and died instantly. Stanley's defence claimed the shot was an accident and the gun's trigger was not pulled. Instead, the defence argued a third round loaded into the magazine was fired, yet failed to detonate, precipitating a hang fire.
The circumstances of the shooting, the RCMP investigation, the trial, and the verdict are flashpoints of controversy in Canada. The case drew significant attention, sparking protests and provoking debates about racism in Saskatchewan and across Canada. People who supported Stanley generally perceived the trial as fair, given the circumstances of events leading up to the shooting. Supporters of the Boushie family felt the trial was unfair due to the selection of what appeared to be an all-white jury. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould denounced the verdict. Critics scorned these comments for politicizing the trial and discrediting the Canadian judiciary system. The mayor of Saskatoon, Charlie Clark, said the trial and its aftermath represented "a defining moment for this community and this country". 
Legislation eliminating peremptory challenges from jury selection was enacted in 2019 and upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in the October 2020 case "R v Chouhan". Two 2021 reports by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found that RCMP's death notification to Boushie's family had been discriminatory and noted serious investigative and communications failures in an otherwise professional response.
Background.
Colten Boushie (October 31, 1993 – August 9, 2016) was a resident of the Cree Red Pheasant First Nation of Saskatchewan.
According to the police Information To Obtain warrant (ITO), which was produced in the early stages of the investigation and obtained by "The Globe and Mail" on August 9, 2016, 22-year-old Colten Boushie and his girlfriend Kiora Wuttunee, Belinda Jackson and her boyfriend Eric Meechance, and Cassidy Cross-Whitstone, all from the Red Pheasant First Nation, had spent the day swimming, drinking, and shooting at the Maymont River. Wuttunee's grey 2003 Ford Escape SUV got a flat tire.
The ITO stated that Boushie's group first visited a neighbouring farm belonging to the Fouhy family, where they "attempted to steal vehicles and items" by trying to smash the window of a truck with a .22 calibre rifle. Cross-Whitstone broke the stock of the rifle in this failed attempt. They then drove on to Gerald Stanley's property near Biggar, Saskatchewan, in the Rural Municipality of Glenside No. 377, which is about from their home.
When the SUV entered the Stanley property, Gerald Stanley and his son Sheldon were repairing a fence, while Stanley's wife Leesa was mowing the lawn not far away. The SUV's occupants first entered a truck belonging to one of Gerald's customers, then mounted an ATV. Sheldon chased them away and smashed the SUV's windshield with a hammer. It "crashed into Stanley's wife's car and came to a halt".
Stanley took a TT-30 (Tokareva) semi-automatic handgun from his shed, loaded it and "fired warning shots in the air" as Cross-Whitstone and Meechance ran from the ATV and fled the property. Sheldon Stanley went into the house to get his truck keys.
Gerald Stanley then approached the SUV with Boushie in the driver's seat and Jackson and Wuttunee in the back. Stanley would later testify he saw the lawnmower his wife was using and thought that she had been run over. He reached in with his left hand to turn off the ignition while holding his handgun in his right hand. The RCMP later found a loaded .22-calibre rifle near Boushie's body.
Aftermath of the shooting.
Boushie's supporters expressed frustration with the "flawed and inadequate" police inquiry, stating that it "initially focused more on the actions of the five young Indigenous people than on the killing of Mr. Boushie". The person initially in charge of the investigation was a junior constable; no forensic experts were brought in. The Ford Escape SUV in which Boushie was killed, was "left uncovered, its doors open, for two rainy days, washing away evidence".
On August 10, 2016, a media release from the RCMP said, "A man was declared dead at the scene. Another man 'associated to the property' was arrested by police at the scene without incident. No charges were immediately laid. Three occupants of the vehicle—one woman, one girl and one man—were taken into custody as part of a related theft investigation, police said. Police later identified and located a fourth boy who was in the vehicle."
This release explained that the witnesses to Boushie's killing were taken into custody "as part of a related theft investigation". None of them were charged as the result of a plea deal in exchange for testimony. Ultimately their testimony was deemed inconclusive due to inconsistencies of their accounts.
On August 12, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) representing 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, issued a media release expressing disappointment in the way the RCMP presented the shooting incident. The RCMP statement "provided just enough prejudicial information for the average reader to draw their own conclusions that the shooting was somehow justified. The messaging in an RCMP news release should not fuel racial tensions ... The media's initial portrayal of the event made the incident sound like a crime was about to be committed by the passengers in the car." The FSIN called for a review of the RCMP's communication policies and writing guidelines. The FSIN said that the "RCMP news release was biased and not in line with the relationship the FSIN and the RCMP have been building with measures such as the RCMP FSIN Partnership Protocol".
The FSIN blamed the RCMP's August 10 statement for "racially charged social media posts" that were posted on the Saskatchewan Farmers Group's Facebook pages with photos of "farmers carrying firearms". The RCMP Superintendent held a press conference asking "residents to put their guns away". The Federation said that the RCMP media release "made it appear that Boushie's killing was justified" by the "right to defend" and that the way the RCMP shared information about the incident had fuelled racial tensions in Saskatchewan.
On the same day, the RCMP responded to the August 12 FSIN statement.
Three days after the shooting, on August 12, 2016, "CBC News" reported that the "event had stimulated a lot of discussion on various social media platforms". Paul Dornstauder, CBC's Executive Producer for Radio Current Affairs in Saskatchewan, described how "there was a vigorous and at times rancorous debate about what had happened and why, some of which was racist".
The article was the subject of investigation by CBC's ombudsman, following CBC's receipt of 25 complaints from readers concerned that "it was wrong of CBC News to publish this article, that it fed into a racist argument about Indigenous peoples that saw Mr. Boushie as a menace. It was seen as an endorsement of the use of violence by some readers." One complainant asserted that the article mistakenly linked "property rights" to Boushie's death. The complainant called the article "irresponsible and damaging" as it "could fan racist sentiment". The article has since been revised. Dornstauder described "this story as having had an electrifying effect in Saskatchewan". It is "complex and controversial", requiring sensitivity and "likely will continue to for some time to come".
On August 15, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall called the comments "unacceptable, intolerant and a betrayal of the very values and character of Saskatchewan". He described them as "dangerous". More than five hundred comments representing both sides of the debate appeared on Wall's Facebook page in response to his remarks.
By August 17, 2016, the National Farmers Union published a statement in which they expressed their "profound sadness over the tragic shooting of Colten Boushie", and extended "deepest condolences to his family and community" and "as farmers", condemned "the rampant racist remarks that have circulated since the death of Colten Boushie, including comments made on the 'Saskatchewan Farmers' Facebook group".
Robert Innes, a University of Saskatchewan professor, described the "racial tension" in Saskatchewan as a "tinder box" with "some farmers" "blaming First Nations people for rural crime. Their mentality is to protect their property."
Bail hearing.
Gerald Stanley's bail hearing was held in North Battleford on August 18, 2016. Hundreds of people protested outside the North Battleford courthouse with RCMP on rooftops observing. On August 19, Stanley was granted bail on a $10,000 cash surety. His bail included a number of conditions, including that he stay within of his home and that he have no contact with Boushie's family or any of the witnesses.
Trial.
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;I know this is an emotional case and I know that people are very vested in what's happening, but that can't happen. It's not a sporting event where we're rooting for one team or another.
The trial for second-degree murder took place from January 30, 2018, to February 9, 2018, at the Court of Queen's Bench Saskatchewan in Battleford with Saskatchewan Chief Justice Martel D. Popescul presiding.
The jury selection system allowed trial lawyers to use "peremptory challenges" to reject a limited number of potential jurors without giving a specific reason. Seven hundred and fifty people were randomly summoned based on health cards for potential jury duty from the Battleford Jury Boundary, a huge area that stretches to the north of Saskatchewan. The pool which was almost double the normal size was enlarged to help secure a more representative jury, though only 204 of the 750 individuals who were summoned actually showed up. Five who appeared to be First Nations were challenged by the defence, leaving what appeared to be an all-white jury.
During the trial, Stanley's attorney Scott Spencer said there was "no evidence" that Stanley intentionally killed Boushie. By February 8, 2018, the jurors were deliberating on a verdict behind closed doors. Judge Popescul "warned people in the gallery about making comments during [the] tense trial" and said that "it was the first time in his long career that he had to say that in court based on a complaint from a juror".
During Judge Popescul's charge to the jury, he instructed them:
You must not find Gerald Stanley guilty unless you are sure he is guilty. Even if you believe that Mr. Stanley is probably guilty or likely guilty, that is not sufficient. In those circumstances, you must give the benefit of the doubt to Mr. Stanley and find him not guilty because the Crown has failed to satisfy you of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If you have a reasonable doubt about Mr. Stanley's guilt arising from the evidence, the absence of the evidence, or the credibility or the reliability of one or more of the witnesses then you must find him not guilty. In short, the presumption of innocence applies at the beginning and continues throughout the trial, unless you are satisfied after considering the whole of the evidence that the Crown has displaced the presumption of innocence by proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
"Hang fire" defence.
The defence case relied heavily on the assertion that the fatal shot was unintentional and the result of a hang fire. The casing from the fatal shot had an unusual bulge which testing of the