Man who murdered N.W.T. RCMP officer in 2007 denied early release

An N.W.T. judge has denied the chance of early parole to a man who killed a Hay River RCMP officer 18 years ago.

Emrah Bulatci was sentenced in 2009 to life in prison with no parole for at least 25 years after being convicted of shooting and killing Const. Christopher Worden on Oct. 6, 2007. 

Last year, Bulatci applied to be released on parole under the "faint hope clause," a now-defunct section of the Criminal Code that allowed those serving life sentences to apply for early parole for making efforts to change their lives. That section has been repealed and is not applicable to people serving sentences for crimes committed after Dec. 2, 2011.

The parole application goes first to a judge for screening before reaching a jury. That's to prevent a victim's loved ones from unnecessarily reliving their trauma at hearings.   

In a written decision Tuesday, N.W.T. Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau said there is no reasonable prospect of a jury granting Bulatci's early release and so his application did not make it past her screening.

Charbonneau considered the seriousness of Bulatci's crime, the impact on Worden's family and friends, as well as the impact on the community of Hay River and on the RCMP, who are particularly vulnerable in smaller remote communities, Charbonneau said. 

"The trauma resulting from this has been significant and not surprisingly, despite the passage of time, the suffering continues," she wrote.

Charbonneau also considered improvements Bulatci seems to have made in recent years. Though the first nine to 10 years of his sentence included repeated violence and use of unauthorized drugs, materials from Bulatci's parole officer, counsellor and others indicate improvements. They describe how Bulatci has undergone several programs, including a violence prevention program, participated in counselling and been active in faith groups.  

He was also transferred to a minimum security facility in 2024, which Charbonneau called "an important indication of the applicant's progress." 

"A number of people who have interacted and worked with the applicant in recent years believe that he has gained considerable insight into the harm he has caused, is genuinely remorseful for that, and that he feels empathy for Const. Worden's loved ones," she wrote.

Materials for the application also suggested a change in Bulatci's sense of responsibility for his crimes. While he maintained during trial that the last two shots he fired at Worden, including the one that killed him, were accidental, he now admits he fired them with the intent to escape — though he maintains he never meant to kill the officer. 

Charbonneau wrote that she found "the shifts in [Bulatci's] narrative and some of its self-serving aspects troublesome," and suggested a jury likely would as well. 

She said while it's impossible to predict a jury's response to the application, given the circumstances, she believed there is no reasonable prospect of Bulatci's application succeeding before a jury.