Family's civil suit claims Gerald Stanley recklessly caused Colten Boushie's death

The family of Colten Boushie is taking Gerald Stanley, the Saskatchewan farmer acquitted in Boushie's shooting death, to civil court, claiming he recklessly caused Boushie's death.

In a statement of claim filed in Saskatoon's Court of Queen's Bench Wednesday, Debbie Baptiste, Boushie's mother, claims Stanley negligently handled thegun that fired and killed Boushie, used excessive force in shooting Boushie "when he presented no risk" and failed to contact "any authorities on a timely basis"after Boushie was wounded.

• Gerald Stanley to pay $3,900 and receive 10-year ban on gun ownership for improper firearm storage

Baptiste is seeking damages, including $20,000 for funeral expenses and $60,000 for grief counselling.

None of the allegations which went public on thesecond anniversary of Boushie's deathhasbeen proven in court.

• What happened on Gerald Stanley's farm the day Colten Boushie was shot, as told by witnesses

Boushie, 22, was shot and killed after he and four others from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation drove onto Stanley's rural property in August 2016.An altercation occurred between the strangers in theSUVand Stanley, his son and his wife.

A jury found Stanley, 56, not guilty last February in the shooting death after a tensetwo-week trial.

Stanley testified he took out one of his handguns from his garage and believed it was empty of bullets by the time he went to the driver's side window where Boushie was seated.

Stanley testified he thought the SUV had run over his wife before he reached into the vehicleto try to turn the ignition off.

That's when the gun fired, court heard.

Lawsuit launched against RCMP

Baptiste and two of Boushie's brothers are also taking the RCMP to civil court.

The family claims that on the night Boushie was shot, the RCMP searched Baptiste's home without reason and without a warrant, breaching the family's charter rights and freedoms.

"The RCMP descended upon the home as though they were executing a tactical military mission," according to the statement of claim.

"The search officers who attended the home deliberately engaged in discrimination by subjecting three proud members of the Red Pheasant Nation to ridicule, unlawful searches, and humiliating breath tests."

The family's lawyer, Chris Murphy, claimsthe actions of the RCMPviolated the family's charter rights.

"I think we hopethat this lawsuit will force the RCMP to look deep within themselves and analyze whether or not they do in fact treat everyone in this province and country the same when it comes to social justice and legal issues," the family's lawyer, Chris Murphy, told Radio-Canada on Thursday.

"These are not the types of things the national police force of Canada should be doing at the time they're notifying someone her youngest child has been killed."

The RCMP has said it was acting on a tip that a man, possibly armed, had fled the scene of Boushie's death to a trailer that looked like the one Boushie's family lived in.

TheRCMPhas issued a statement contestingMurphy's Thursday comments, saying they inaccurately depict the reality of officer relations with Saskatchewan communities.

"Investigations are conducted objectively, thoroughly and without bias," the RCMP said.

The RCMPis developing positive relationships with Saskatchewan people who are both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, Assistant Commissioner CurtisZablocki said in the statement.

• RCMP 'sloppy' and 'negligent' in investigating Colten Boushie's death, say independent experts

The Boushie family lawsuit against the RCMP comes as the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP conducts its own review of how the RCMP interacted with the Boushie family that night as well as the RCMP's investigation of Boushie's death.