Inquest won't give Stephens family 'solace,' says new lawyer in Summerside police shooting suit - Action News
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PEI

Inquest won't give Stephens family 'solace,' says new lawyer in Summerside police shooting suit

More than five years after Summerside police officers shot Jeremy Stephens to death in a darkened basement, his family has a new Ottawa-based lawyer with a reputation across Canada for taking on difficult and contentious cases.

Well-known lawyer Lawrence Greenspon now representing family of Jeremy Stephens

Picture of a smiling young man in a white tank top.
Jeremy Stephens had more than 50 criminal convictions by the time he died at the age of 32, in May 2018. (Submitted by Stephens family)

A coroner's inquest is no longer a top priority for an Island family that's suing Summerside police and Health P.E.I. over ashootingdeath fiveyears ago, says their new lawyer.

The family of Jeremy Stephens had long been demanding an inquest to better understand what happened the night he was shot to death by Summerside police officers in Prince Edward Island's second-biggest city.

"An inquestif and when it takes placeit's not going to give them much in the way of solace," said Lawrence Greenspon, who signed on as lawyer for the Stephens family last month.

"It's now been five years. What happens to the family, quite understandablytheybecome skeptical and eventuallycynical."

A police watchdog agency, Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), took less than a year to clear Summerside police of any criminal wrongdoing related to the May27, 2018 shooting. The team concluded police officers were justified in using lethal force as they tried to arrest Stephensin the darkened basement of a Duke Street house in the early-morning hours.

Police believed Stephens was armed with a knife,andthey were aware of his violent criminal record and drug-related mental health issues.

Lawrence Greenspon, criminal and civil lawyer, Ottawa.
'We've been down that path many times already,' says Lawrence Greenspon, lawyer for the family of Jeremy Stephens. Greenspon downplays the role of a coroner's inquest in resolving liability for the fatal police shooting. (CBC)

Stephens died in Prince County Hospital later that same day, at the age of 32.

The City of Summerside was in the midst of a planned power outage for several hours that spanned both the shooting and the period when Stephens was taken to hospital and treated for eight gunshot wounds.

The family is suing Summerside police, Health P.E.I. and three doctors at Prince County Hospital for$6 million.

A legal reputation

The family's new Ottawa-based lawyer has a reputation for taking on difficult and contentious criminal and civil cases.

A single light illuminates the house where Summerside police shot Jeremy Stephens in May 2018.
A light illuminates the Duke Street house where Summerside police shot Jeremy Stephens in May 2018. On that night, though, the building and street were in total darkness. (Brian Higgins/CBC)

Greenspon has represented Tamara Lich, a leader of the Ottawa truckers convoy; Canadian families of alleged ISIS members; and Joshua Boyle, a former Afghan hostage who faced criminal charges in Canada.

Islanders might remember the lawyer from his representation of P.E.I. Senator Mike Duffy inthe 2013-15 expenses scandal and Duffy's subsequent lawsuit against the Senate of Canada.

Greenspon hasalso represented otherfamiliesof victims of fatal police shootings.

"It's a problem that we see systematically right across the country ... police's inappropriate dealing with people who have mental health issues,"Greenspon told CBC News in an interview.

Response from police and hospital system

Summerside police officers have steadfastly defended their actions, and their lawyers filed an amended statement of defence to the family's lawsuitin P.E.I. Supreme Court on May 19 of this year.

"[Stephens]was armed and his actions clearly displayed his intention to cause serious injuryor death to the officers," reads the statement.

"[Police] rightly and reasonably believed that Stephens posed a threat of imminent bodily harm or death to them and, in the circumstances, were entitled to apply force to protect themselves from harm."

The police statement of defence also recountsefforts byofficers to save Stephens's life immediately after the shooting, by providingfirst aid and taking him to Prince County Hospital.

The death of Jeremy Stephens occurred in the absence of any negligence on the part of Health P.E.I.Court documents filed by lawyers for Health P.E.I

Health P.E.I. filed a statement of defence onMay 12, 2023, sayingthat staff "met the applicable standard of care"and "the death of Jeremy Stephens occurred in the absence of any negligence on the part of Health P.E.I."

Three Prince County Hospital doctors sued by the Stephens family have also denied wrongdoing in their own statements of defence.

Summerside police and Health P.E.I. are calling for the case to be dismissed.

'We're just hoping for the best'

Jannett Jones, one of Jeremy Stephens'ssisters,contracted Greensponon behalf of her family, after an 11th-hour effort to find a new lawyer.

'It's definitely brought back some hope,' says Jannett Jones, a sister of Jeremy Stephens.
'It's definitely brought back some hope,' says Jannett Jones, a sister of Jeremy Stephens. (Brian Higgins/CBC)

"We knew he had a high profile and some pretty good cases behind him. We're just hoping for the best," said Jones.

"It's definitely brought back some hope that things are going to proceedWe just want to get some closure."

According to court records, Chief Justice Tracey Clements has slated a case management conference for July 5. At that time,lawyers for the parties involved will discuss, in private, possible next steps towarda resolution of the matter.