Criminal defence lawyer Mike King has been named as the very first director of the province’s Serious Incident Response Team.

King will lead the team that will investigate all matters involving death, serious injury, sexual offence, domestic violence and other matters of significant public interest that involve police.

King’s appointment is effective September 30 for a five-year term. It is his responsibility to create and pick the team, and the department will work closely with him to provide assistance and support. Police officers are eligible for placement on the team.

King was Chair of the Criminal Justice section of the Canadian Bar Association Newfoundland and Labrador Branch from 2012-2017 and was selected in the 2019 edition of the Best Lawyers in Canada for his work in criminal defence.

Andrew Parsons says he is confident that King brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to effectively lead this new team as they deal with serious incidents that involve our police.

King says his first order of business is gathering information and selecting his Serious Incident Response Team.

King says gathering information is very important and needs to happen first.

Parsons says there are ten active cases in the province right now. @VOCMNEWS #nlpoli pic.twitter.com/TAM7tvYPbx

— Ben Murphy VOCM (@BenMurphyVOCM) September 11, 2019