One cop riddled with bullets. Two cops charged.

The shooter and the victim, both of whom are officers with the Niagara Regional Police Services.

But whatever happened that day, down a country road near the town of Pelham, witnessed by a dozen other cops, remains a mystery.

The Special Investigations Unit had their kick at the can in this apparent cop-on-cop shooting. In March, they charged Det. Sgt. Shane Donovan with the attempted murder of Const. Nathan Parker.

On Wednesday morning, the Ontario Provincial Police charged Parker with assaulting a police officer, assault with intent to resist arrest and assault with a weapon.

You needn’t be a detective to read between the lines.

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In the Nov. 29, 2018 incident — which is a meek word to describe the high-noon “altercation” — the SIU designated Donovan as their only subject officer, meaning Donovan would be the only cop who could invoke his legal right not to provide a statement on events of that day. Thirteen other cops, including Parker, were designated as witness officers, meaning they were compelled to submit to SIU interviews.

That’s practically an entire platoon. So why would so many cops be present for what was supposed to have been a routine followup — reconstructing the scene — of an impaired driving collision 17 days earlier? How long before the SIU was called and arrived to separate all those witnesses, each one of whom wears a badge? Did witnesses have time to get their stories straight?

Details about the occurrence have always been sketchy. But as the Star and other media outlets reported at the time, 52-year-old Parker had been struck multiple times and severely wounded, arising from an argument that devolved into fisticuffs. Parker, with nearly three decades as a constable, had been assigned to uniform patrol in Welland and Pelham. Donovan headed the NRP’s collision reconstruction unit and had investigated the impaired driving collision in which a teenage motorist lost control of his vehicle, ending up in a ditch, the car bursting into flames.

But who was the actual victim in the cop-on-cop wrangle? The guy rushed to hospital in critical condition or the guy who may have been provoked into drawing his weapon, if that’s how it went down? Because it now appears that both men were possible culprits since both have been charged.

What the citizens of Niagara Region make of all this — of allegedly rogue cops sworn to serve and protect the public — can only be imagined. As happens predictably in any incident involving arrested cops, law enforcement agencies draw a tight mum circle. Neither Parker nor Donovan were ever detained in custody before the charges were laid or pending bail. Parker’s bail hearing is scheduled for June 10 in St. Catharines.

As the Star reported months ago, Parker was hardly an unknown quantity with the policing establishment. His disciplinary history included four hearings involving aggressive behaviour and unreasonable use of force. In all cases, Parker was either convicted by a tribunal or pleaded guilty. Collectively, the constable had been docked 226 hours since 2012. At one point he was also ordered to take retraining and anger management counselling.

Parker’s own estranged brother, Phillip, told the Star that his sibling had a trigger rage he described as a “red mist,” who struck fear in the heart of family members. “Nathan Parker is no innocent person. I can tell you … that if he got shot, it’s because he made the other person fear for his life. He’s a frightening person.”

Yet, despite multiple complaints and punitive discipline, Parker remained a cop and carried a gun. So Niagara Regional Police should be under the gun too.

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Police Chief Bryan MacCulloch shed little light on this whole mess during a short press conference Wednesday afternoon in which he did scarcely more than confirm that Parker had been charged.

It was MacCulloch who asked the OPP to conduct a parallel investigation to see whether charges against anyone else were merited. The SIU, which investigates when serious injury, death or sexual assaults result involving police officers in the province, had focused their probe on Donovan. It was not tasked with investigating Parker.

“Immediately following that incident, once it was determined that the Ontario Special Investigations Unit was invoking its mandate, I requested the assistance of the Ontario Provincial Police to determine if there was any criminal culpability outside of the SIU’s scope,” said MacCulloch. “I felt it was imperative, as we continue to maintain a high level of public trust and confidence from the community and only fair to our members to bring in the OPP as an impartial third party to conduct that investigation.’’

MacCulloch skewed his remarks towards what the rank-and-file are experiencing as they’ve watched a pair of colleagues shift from cops to alleged perps.

“What I need to be clear on is that the impact that this event has had on our service, and on our members, and it’s been profound. We are still coming to terms with understanding what transpired that day.”

You know, cops never have much difficulty disclosing details of an investigation after a crime has been committed, particularly before charges are laid against a suspect. But the cone of silence descends when it’s one of their own.

It is intriguing that Parker has been charged with resisting arrest as well. What in the world does that mean, exactly? Often cops pile that thing on top of other charges, sometimes dubiously. Asked specifically about resist-arrest, MacCulloch professed ignorance. “Unfortunately, I’m not privy to the evidence that the OPP is relying upon to lay that charge.”

He similarly had nothing to say about why his two officers hadn’t been detained pending bail. “Unfortunately, I can’t offer any opinion on that as to why in the case of the SIU or in the case of the OPP as to the mechanism of their release.’’

But of course MacCulloch could buttress the professionalism of his police department, noting that officers and civilian employees struggling to grapple with the emotional impact of this incident, should avail themselves of assistance from the member support unit and, if they wish, the department chaplain.

How the public should cope with a severe breach of trust wasn’t addressed.

“This is not over and it won’t be over any time soon.”

Rosie DiManno is a columnist based in Toronto covering sports and current affairs. Follow her on Twitter: @rdimanno

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