Jerry Daniels. grand chief of the Southern Chiefs Organization of Manitoba, in an undated photo. Photo courtesy: SCO.
The Ottawa Police Service says it has closed its investigation into an alleged Dec. 3 bar fight involving a chief in Manitoba without laying charges, APTN News has learned.
The OPS told APTN the case, which has thrown the leadership of Grand Chief Jerry Daniels of the Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) into question, could be reopened down the road.
“The investigation is considered closed,” said OPS spokeswoman Const. Cailey Walker in an email Thursday, “no charges have been laid.
“Should new information come to light the file may be reopened at that time.”
The police have said they were called to a business in the downtown Ottawa Byward Market entertainment district at about 2:30 a.m. amid reports of a fight. Sources told APTN that Daniels was injured and treated at an Ottawa hospital.
Sources have said Daniels fought with two or three band councillors from Lake St. Martin First Nation in Manitoba. No one from Lake St. Martin has commented.
Police have not identified the business and continue to refuse to do so.
Daniels, 42, was in Ottawa to attend the national Assembly of First Nations gathering.
He has not spoken publicly since his return to Winnipeg.
SCO has said he is on health leave.
Daniels has apologized to SCO – a political organization that lobbies for 33 First Nations – and revealed he has a problem with alcohol and proposed a treatment plan.
“The past few weeks have been a wake-up call, and I recognize the need for change in my lifestyle,” he said in the apology obtained by APTN. “Just like anyone who faces the shame of having personal struggles laid bare, I wish I had been honest sooner about my challenges with alcohol.”
He is serving his third term as grand chief. But, his role is to be reviewed at a “chiefs’ summit” sometime this month after his continued leadership was questioned following the incident in Ottawa.
SCO has not responded to APTN’s questions about what happened in Ottawa.
