'And then the shots were fired:' Lawyers witnessed shooting of Wapekeka man

WAPEKEKA — “In my 18 years of practice, I’ve never heard of an incident at court like this.”

Dryden lawyer Karen Seeley wasn’t there when an OPP officer shot and killed 23-year-old Tyresse Roundsky in a Wapekeka courtroom last Thursday, but two of her colleagues were.

Seeley’s coworkers, alongside a judge and crown attorney, were attending fly-in court in the remote First Nation, and witnessed the incident.

According to Seeley, her colleagues described an individual walking in, passing the lawyers’ tables into the inner square of the makeshift courtroom and taking something out. One said they saw a knife, while the other said they didn’t see it. The province's Special Investigations Unit, which is investigating the incident, has also stated he was holding a knife.

“And then they heard the officer indicate: ‘Drop it. Drop it.,’" Seeley said. "And then the shots were fired.”

It all happened very quickly, she said, and the colleagues who were present were understandably upset but physically fine.

“Our hearts and thoughts are with the community of Wapekeka, and my colleagues,” she said. “It has been a very upsetting incident to have occurred, very shocking.”

First and foremost, she said, is the concern for the community of about 500 people.

“The people that were in attendance in the body of the court will have known the individual that was shot and killed and may very well be related to them.

“So, it's going to be very traumatic for the community of Wapekeka, and I hope that they also get the help that they need,” Seeley said.

The First Nation issued a statement over the weekend mourning the passing of Tyresse Kenny Padro Cree Roundsky, who would have been 24 in October. A relative of Roundsky’s, who did not want to be named, said he was the second family member to be killed by police in a week, after her nephew Eric Nothing was shot by police in Deer Lake First Nation.

The incident also puts the legal community’s security concerns in a stark light. The Kenora District Law Association issued a statement from its president, Morgan Fletcher, on Friday — highlighting the lack of security measures in place not only for fly-in courtrooms such as Wapekeka, but in courthouses throughout the region.

Judges and lawyers fly in to remote communities and set up courtrooms in public buildings on a rotating basis, roughly every two months, said Seeley.

In Wapekeka the courtroom was set up in a youth centre.

The format is essential to ensuring access to justice in remote communities, Fletcher wrote, as many do not have internet access reliable enough to attend court online. “Futhermore, individuals are entitled to have access to justice within their communities,” she added.

There are police officers present during court, explained Seely, but safety measures such as metal detectors and security screenings are absent not only in fly-in courtrooms, but everywhere in the region except the Thunder Bay courthouse. Even the courthouses in Kenora, Dryden, Fort Frances and Rainy River lack these precautions, she said.

“None of us expected anything like this to occur,” Seeley said, but this isn't the first time the legal community has raised safety concerns.

Fletcher writes that the law association “continues to be willing to work with government at all levels, as well as police and court services staff, to develop improved security policies and planning.

“Taking steps to have security at the doorway of any building set to hold court that screens individuals with a metal detector wand may be a good start to addressing this issue.

“All participants in the justice system deserve to feel safe when they attend court; whether judge, lawyer, litigant, or member of the public.”