Former Peel officer charged criminally for shooting Mississauga woman

By News Staff and The Canadian Press

A police officer who shot and wounded a woman after a domestic call in May in Mississauga is facing several charges.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says it has reason to believe 30-year-old Valerie Briffa committed criminal offences.

The SIU says Briffa shot 34-year-old Chantelle Krupka during an “interaction between officers and individuals.”

The charges include criminal negligence causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.

Briffa, who was a probationary constable, resigned from Peel Regional Police on June 29. She was arrested on Thursday and is to appear in court on Aug. 4.

A protest was held outside Peel Regional Police headquarters 22 Division Thursday in support of Krupka who was asked to go to the police station for fingerprinting related to charges laid against her after the incident.

Krupka has previously said her ex-partner made the call after an argument earlier in the day. Officers threatened to charge her with a crime when she failed to go outside, she said, prompting her to call 911 to ask for a supervising officer to come to the home but was advised to go outside and speak to police.

The situation escalated and police tasered both Krupka and her current partner, Michael Headley, who is also Black. She said neither had threatened the officers and neither was armed.

At a news conference last month, the mother of a 10-year-old son said the jolt threw her onto her porch and that she thought it would kill her. When she tried to help Headley, the officer shot her in the abdomen.

“It was very quick and it was very shocking,” she said. “She seemed just as shocked as I was. She seemed just as scared as I was once she realized what she had done”

Peel police tell 680 NEWS Krupka is facing charges of laundering proceeds of crime committed within Canada and possession for the purpose of distributing over 50 grams.

In a statement on the protest, they say peel police searched the home and seized property, including, cash, a cell phone, and cannabis, all of which Krupka describes as legal.

The statement also said a complaint has been filed with the office of Independent Police Review Director in which Krupka said she believes the chargers were laid against her as “an attempt to paint us as criminals and create an after-the-fact justification for the excessive use of force against us.”

Krupka and the other protesters are demanding all charges against her and her partner be dropped.

During the protest, Krupka was allowed inside with some of her supporters and asked to have the date for her fingerprinting changed.

Police have reportedly say they don’t have the authority to change the date and Krupka will be charged if she does not leave without getting her fingerprints taken.

 

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