He may be the top cop, but Niagara Regional Police Chief Bryan MacCulloch says he doesn’t know any more than the public about why one of his officers shot another last Thursday afternoon in Pelham.

“I understand the frustration of the public, and of our members. I am as anxious as anyone to learn exactly what happened,” MacCulloch said in an interview Monday. “But right now, we are not involved in the investigation.”

The provincial Special Investigations Unit is looking into the shooting of Const. Nathan Parker, who police sources said was shot at least five times during an altercation with another officer while investigating a crash that had taken place two weeks earlier.

The SIU — which investigates all incidents of serious injury or death involving police in Ontario — places a virtual blackout on information when doing an investigation. The service under investigation cannot speak about the incident.

MacCulloch has spoken to both Parker and Det.-Sgt. Shane Donovan, the other officer involved. He said the incident has rattled the entire police service and left both civilian and uniformed members with more questions than answers.

“What I have said to them is, ‘Trust in the investigative process,’” MacCulloch said. “At the end of the day, that process will win out.”

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That process also involves the Ontario Provincial Police, who MacCulloch asked to run a parallel investigation into the shooting.

He said he asked the OPP to bring a “fresh set of eyes” to the case, because a police service can expand an investigation beyond the more narrow scope of an SIU probe.

In the meantime, MacCulloch said an internal NRP “wellness unit” — which includes an occupational health and safety nurse and access to mental health services — is assisting officers and staff impacted by the incident.

“It’s upsetting to the community and it’s upsetting to the members of our service,” the chief said.

Parker, who remains in hospital in stable condition, was shot at the scene of the followup investigation for an impaired driving case.

Donovan is on administrative leave during the SIU investigation.

The SIU has said it is questioning 12 “witness officers,” but MacCulloch said the term is misleading. A witness officer is not necessarily someone who saw the shooting, he said.

“That can be any responding officer who had contact with the subject officers.”

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MacCulloch did not immediately know how many officers were assigned to the impaired driving case last Thursday, or what the status of that investigation is.

While the public and the police wait for answers about the incident, another question has arisen — why is Parker still a police officer?

Parker has a history of disciplinary problems with the NRP, often for violence. He was docked nearly 300 hours of pay in total after being found guilty of infractions in at least four disciplinary hearings.

MacCulloch, who reiterated that he cannot discuss individual officer cases, said he understands the public’s frustration when a police officer gets into trouble repeatedly but isn’t fired.

However, unlike in the movies, MacCulloch said a police chief cannot just fire an officer. Disciplinary actions, including termination, are decided by the Police Services Act.

“The Police Services Act is a complete code of discipline and we are obligated to follow it,” he said, noting Section 5 of the act frames all disciplinary hearings and actions.

MacCulloch said the disciplinary process has evolved into a pseudo-courtroom where defence lawyers make the same kinds of arguments they do in a court of law. As a result, the process is longer and more complicated.

The previous Liberal government was going to change the act and replace disciplinary hearing officers — currently senior officers — with retired judges.

The current Progressive Conservative government put those changes on hold in the summer.

McCulloch would not speculate how those changes might impact the careers of problem officers, but said retired judges might be better equipped to navigate complicated legal arguments during a hearing.

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