'It was pure torture': Family hopes for full answers from inquiry in Don Dunphy's killing

Thepublic inquiry into the killing of Don Dunphyis coming at longlast for the man's daughter, a lawyer representing the Dunphyfamily says.

Details of the much-awaitedinquiry were released on Friday, almost a year and a half after the Mitchells Brook man was killed in his own home.

Lawyer Erin Breen saidthe wait for a full answer has been unbearable.

"For the general publicit's obviously been very frustrating, but when this is your family member and this is her dad really the only term i can put on it was pure torture," Breen said Friday.

"To learn new things in the media every day, really, and not really know what's true, what's not true, it's been very difficult for her."

Joe Smyth shot and killed Don Dunphy, 59, at his home on Easter Sunday in 2015. Smyth was a constable at the Royal Newfoundland Constabularywho was assigned to then-premier Paul Davis's security detail.

The Liberals promised a public inquiry into the events as part of their election platform.

The terms of reference were released Friday, more than a week after the RCMP announced Smyth would not be charged in the incident.

Terms released

According to the terms of reference released byAndrewParsons, the province's minister of justice,the purpose of the inquiry is to find out, among other things:

• The circumstances of Dunphy's death;
• The reason RNC officer Joe Smythvisited Dunphy, whether he was directed to do so, and if so, by whom;
• What information was provided as the reason for the RNC officer's visit, as well as its reliability;
• The reasonan RNC officer visited Dunphy in the RCMP'sjurisdiction;
• The facts surrounding police operations on the day of Dunphy's death;
• Whether use-of-force protocols were properly followed;
• Whether Dunphy's use of social media played any part in his death

Multiple police agencies have performed reviews or investigations into the incident the AlbertaSerious Incident Response Team found theRCMP's criminalinvestigation "thorough, complete and unbiased," while theSaskatoon Police Service found no wrongdoing on the part ofSmyth, the RNC claims but none of those reports have been released to thepublic.

• 4 new things we learned about the Don Dunphy case
• 'Dead men tell no tales': Former justice left with questions in DonDunphyshooting

In the absence of those reports, retired justice David Riche gave multiple interviews to CBC News about the incident. He was hired to oversee the RCMP's criminal investigationand said some aspects of the incident were quite troubling.

Parsons said the upcoming public inquiry should put all remaining questions to rest.

"It is not lost on me that it has taken far too long to get to this day, and it is unfortunate that we need an inquiry in the first place," he said.

Watch the full news conference with Justice Barry and Minister Parsons below:

Leo Barry will chair inquiry

Justice Leo Barry, a Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court judge since 1989, has been tasked by the provincial government with finding answers in the shooting death of DonDunphy.

Parsonsannounced Barry'sappointment as head of the provincial inquiry at anews conference Fridayat Confederation Building.

"I am confident he will ensure a full and complete inquiry into the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident," said Parsons.

On Friday afternoon, PC leader Paul Davis called for the immediate release of the RCMP and ASIRT reports into Dunphy's killing.

• Release all reports on DonDunphyshooting death, urges police association

Barry said that he expects all the reports will be released through the inquiry process, but qualified that valid privacyconcerns must be respected.

Breen agreedthat a release of all reports and reviews should be done.

"I can onlyimagine that the next step from here will be that all information will be going to Justice Barry, and it will be released for the parties to prepare for the commencement of the inquiry," she said.

"At least that will be done in an organized fashion, and we can ensure that we have everything at one time. Because the piecemeal, limited snippets that you get, over time, are really unsatisfactory."

No criminal recommendations

The RCMP already announced they do not intend to charge Smythfor Dunphy's killing.

The final report of the inquiry is scheduled to be completed by July 1, 2017, but it won't make any findings about criminal or civil liability.

"But if there are facts revealed in the course of an inquiry, then obviously these facts would be made known to government and to the powers that be in terms of making decisions," Barry said."And it would be up to them as to what the law says in terms of acting on any new information instead."

Despite the pending inquiry, Minister Parsons has begun to draw some conclusions from Dunphy's killing:It is "abundantly clear"the province needs its own independent serious-incident response team like Alberta's hesaid.

Breen saidthe jumble of investigators and reviews shows there needs to be change.

"There has to be a new regime, because what happened here was just so confused," she said.

The officeof the Citizens' Representative will examine the history and treatment ofDunphy'scase with Workplace NL.

The government has budgeted $1.5 million to $2 million for the inquiry. So far there have been two applications for coverageof legalcounsel costs: One by Meghan Dunphy and one from former premier Paul Davis.