WATERHEN LAKE FIRST NATION -- It has been one year since Calgary police shot and killed 34 year-old Robin Fiddler, an Indigenous mother of three from the Waterhen Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan.
On Friday, more than 50 people held a memorial walk for Fiddler in the First Nation which is just north Meadow Lake.
The walk started at the local school and made its way through the community and ended at Waterhen Lake First Nation’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls memorial site.
“It’s like losing a part of your heart. Every day you think about her and you can’t believe that she’s gone. Nothing is being done about it, it makes me feel sad because I would like to find out what really happened to my daughter,” said Denny Fleury, the father of Robin Fiddler.
Fleury says the family still has many unanswered questions surrounding Fiddler’s death and they want the Calgary police officer to be held accountable. They also want more cultural and police training for its officers along with more accountability and oversight.
On June 26, 2019, at around 6am, a female police officer responded to a call of a suspicious person in the southeast community of Southview. Calgary Police Service said the officer had a conversation with Fiddler.
The officer was then pepper-sprayed by Fiddler. A scuffle ensued and the officer then shot two rounds. Fiddler later died in hospital.
“I don’t understand why police can just shoot somebody and get away with it. This is the hardest thing to deal with. Somebody taking the life of your flesh and blood,” added Fleury.
Fleury says at the time, Fiddler was living in Calgary trying to get her son back from social services. She didn’t have a vehicle and used her bicycle to get around.
“She tried everything to get her son back and she got mixed up with the wrong crowd. Maybe she got into drugs. There was no bus service for her to come home and she didn’t have a license. She was living a hard life,” said Fleury.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is still investigating the incident and has not released its report. ASIRT did not return calls for comment on Friday.
“I have to explain to my family that every individual is not the same because they wear that (police) uniform. It’s hard for me to trust cops now. Now I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything from the investigators lately. They should at least let me know what happened,“ said Fleury.