Crime in Prince George has no followers yet. Be the first one to follow.
DeLynda Pilon
newsroom@pgfreepress.com
When a press release said all four suspects involved in a kidnapping, reported to police on April 15, were known to police, they weren’t exaggerating, especially about one of them.
Two of the four men, Michael Andrew Joseph Fitzgerald, 32, and Craig Anthony Niedermayer, 35, the first arrested at the Ferndale area residence where the victim was held, the other the next day, have been charged with kidnapping along with two brothers, Francois, 24, (also known as Frankie) and Dillan Meerholz, 22, who remained at large until they turned themselves in at the RCMP station at 11:30 p.m. April 17.
As the investigation continues, more charges are anticipated.
The South African-born elder Meerholz brother was out on bail in Prince George early last year when he was arrested by the Canada Border Services Agency on an outstanding deportation order.
Frankie and Dillan immigrated to Canada in 1999 when Frankie was 12. Slated to live with relatives, Frankie wound up in the foster care system.
In November of 2008, after amassing a variety of criminal convictions, he was ordered deported, but the federal government stayed the conviction for 18 months, giving the young man a second chance, with conditions, one of which included keeping clean of any more brushes with the law.
The opportunity was squandered when Meerholz garnered more convictions, and the deportation order was reinstated.
According to police, Meerholz was a member of the Game Tight Soldiers and wore the first piece of a three-part patch Renegade initiates must earn.
Dillan also has a record, including assault, and has been linked with the Game Tight Soldiers, say police.
Cpl. Craig Douglass, Prince George RCMP media liaison, said he can’t really say if either Meerholz brother is still linked with these gangs.
“But he (Frankie) is associated with organized crime. This incident was drug-related and certainly criminal in nature,” he said.
A search of the Ferndale property where the victim was held turned up a small grow op as well as stolen property.
In a press release, police say the offences are drug-related and targeted.
The adult male victim, who police believe was held for several days, was taken by ambulance to the hospital to be treated for serious but non-life threatening injuries.
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In just over an hour Sunday evening, the Prince George RCMP received two reports of robberies that occurred a short distance from one another in Prince George. Just before 9:30 p.m., officers responded to a report of a robbery near the corner of Pine Street and 20th Avenue. Two girls, aged 16 and 11, were approached by approximately five youths who demanded money. One of the youths, a girl, searched the two victims for money but was unsuccessful. The girl stole a purple LG brand cellphone and the suspects fled. One of the victims was assaulted and threats were made towards both victims. A suspect was described as a First Nations girl, 15 to 17 years old, approximately 160 cm (5’3”) and 54 kgs (120 lbs). She was wearing a white athletic jacket with black stripes on sleeves Another suspect was described as a First Nations boy, 15 to 17 years old, approximately 175 cm (5’9”) and 73 kgs (160 lbs). He was earing a baggy red sweater with hood, blue jeans, red shoes and a ball cap with red brim. Police patrolled the area, but couldn’t find the suspects. Just after 10:30 p.m. the same evening, police were called to the area on Porter Avenue and Oak Street for another robbery report. This location is approximately two blocks from the first reported robbery. Officers attended the area and spoke to the male and female victims, both aged 18. Three thin First Nations girls approached the victims in the parking lot near 15th Avenue and Victoria Street. One of the youths asked for a cigarette. The victims advised that they did not smoke and continued away on foot. Later, the two victims were confronted by the same three girls near the corner of Porter Avenue and Oak Street. This time, one of the girls had a rock in her hand and demanded the purse belonging to the female victim. Shortly after, one of the suspects attempted to grab the purse. The male victim stepped in to prevent the theft and the two victims ran away, calling police shortly after. All three suspects were described as First Nations girls, thin build, between 13 and 15 years old, and wearing dark clothing. Given the close time frame, similar location and similarities in the descriptions of the suspects, police believe the same group of youths could be responsible for these two attempted robberies. None of the four victims were seriously hurt. Police are urging members of the public, especially youth, to exercise caution when out on foot at night.
Close to five months after the investigation into the Victoria Towers fire began, crown counsel has opted not to pursue charges after reviewing the lengthy report submitted to them by the RCMP. The fire happened during the early morning hours on Nov. 3, 2011. The RCMP assisted Prince George Fire and Rescue in evacuating the building and controlling traffic. About 96 people in 59 suites in the 12-storey building were affected by the blaze. Explosive On March 29 at 2 p.m. the Prince George RCMP got a report from the RCMP North District office that a member of the public brought in what looked like a pipe bomb. The device was found in an apartment on the 4000 block of 15th Avenue. A general duty member of the RCMP secured the scene and evacuated the people in the immediate area of the device. An RCMP dog searched the North District office for any odour of explosive-type substances. Members of the B.C. Explosive Disposal Unit were flown in from the Lower Mainland and they disposed of the device. A small amount of explosive was found. The investigation is ongoing. The Prince George RCMP would like to remind the public to never handle anything that they believe could potentially be an improvised explosive device. Call the Prince George RCMP detachment, which in turn will assess the situation and act accordingly. Vandalism The morning of April Fool’s Day RCMP responded to a report of vandalism to three vehicles on the 4300 block of Ewen Avenue. All the vehicles were spray painted but are associated with different people so officers believe the offences are likely random. Break-In On April 1 at about 3:30 p.m. the RCMP was called to a break and enter on the 2100 block of Ross Crescent where over $10,000 worth of items were stolen. They include a black Dell computer with a 17” monitor, a Canon camera with lenses and a substantial amount of jewellery. The break-in happened sometime in the last two weeks while the owners were out of town. The investigation is ongoing. The Prince George RCMP would like to remind residents to take extra precautions before going away for extended periods of time. • Ensure someone checks on your property or have someone stay in your residence. • Use light timers to help make the appearance that you are home. • In the winter, arrange to have someone remove fresh snow from your driveway. • When you are traveling by car, ask a neighbour to park in your driveway. Hot bbq? On April 2 at 4:45 a.m., officers patrolling in the 17th Avenue and Redwood Street. area noticed two men who were known to have a history of property crimes pushing a portable barbecue along 17th. The 23 and 24-year-old said the barbecue was borrowed, but an officer was unable to confirm that. The barbecue was seized until the owner can be located. On April 2 a Canada wide warrant was issued for Jarrod Lane, a 40-year-old Prince George man still believed to be in the area. Lane was released on day parole on March 13. A warrant was issued March 28 when he failed to return to his halfway house and breached another condition of his release. Lane is a 6’ 186 lbs. Caucasian man with shaved brown hair and hazel eyes. He may have a goatee and has tattoos on his lower neck and collar area. Lane has a lengthy criminal record, mostly for property offences, but should be considered violent. Anyone who sees him are asked not to approach him but to call the police immediately. On April 2 police recovered stolen property including a laptop computer and nutritional products and found a small amount of crack cocaine and trafficking material after executing a search warrant at the 2200 block of Norwood St. Of the four people arrested at the home, three were released without charges. The fourth, a 30-year-old Prince George resident, was released on documents to attend court June 20. Property and drug related offences will be recommended to crown counsel. The same man was arrested for possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a prohibited weapon when a warrant was executed at the same residence on March 8, and heroin as well as a can of bear spray was located. His court date for the charges stemming from that incident is April 25. The items recovered on April 2 are related to two theft reports. On March 30 police responded to an alarm on the 1600 block of 15th Ave. A front door window was smashed and nutritional products were stolen. The laptop was reported stolen from Prince George Pulp and Paper on the afternoon of March 30. Witnesses saw a man in overalls take the computer, which belonged to a contractor, but weren’t suspicious until the theft was later discovered. The man also attempted to steal a vehicle. Prince George RCMP recovered a skid steer tractor stolen on March 21 from a locked garage on a property on Eaglecrest Rd. on April 3 after executing a warrant on Salmon Valley Rd. They also seized 180 marijuana plants. No one was on the property when police arrived. The machine was returned to the rightful owner and the investigation is ongoing. On April 4 at about 1:17, Prince George Regional Traffic Services responded to the report of a single vehicle crash on Highway 16 West at the Bednesti Lake Resort. A 2001 Freightliner drove off the road into a ditch. The driver was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The RCMP are continuing their investigation into the crash but neither speed nor alcohol is believed to be a factor. If you have any information about these or any other offences, please contact the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca, or Text-A-Tip to CRIMES using keyword “pgtips”.
There’s a new man heading up the RCMP in the North.
Superintendent Rod Booth has been appointed to the position of North District Commander and will be promoted to the rank of Chief Superintendent.
“I am extremely proud of all the men and women in the North District and of all the work they do every day,” he said in a statement issued to the press. “From our municipal and public service support staff and civilian members, to the regular members who put themselves in harm’s way, every day, under extremely trying circumstances. My first priority is to continue the ongoing work of rebuilding public confidence in the RCMP, but more importantly, in rebuilding the confidence of employees in themselves. Our focus has to be on people. We can go a long way toward achieving our goals by clearly identifying our specific roles and responsibilities and knowing our accountabilities.”
The appointment was made by RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson and is being hailed by Minister of Justice and Attorney General Shirley Bond.
“It is a testament to his leadership, professionalism, and personal commitment to serve British Columbians,” she said. “I look forward to Rod’s continued contribution to community safety in our province.”
Booth is a 30-year veteran of the RCMP.
For his first 22 years of service he worked exclusively in detachment policing. He has served in the Lower Mainland, the Yukon, and the Gulf Islands. In 2004 he transferred to Ottawa and shortly after arriving was commissioned to the rank of Inspector as the Officer in charge of the Operational Policy Section. Two years later he was appointed the executive officer to the RCMP Commissioner and served three commissioners before being seconded to the Privy Council Office working on security preparations for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He returned to B.C. in 2010 as the Assistant District Officer.
As the North District Commander, Booth is responsible for over 1,100 employees in an area that encompasses 73 per cent of the province and is home to 37 detachments and support units. He fills the position vacated by Barry Clark, who retired last year.
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http://www.pgfreepress.com/news/145481315.html
A RCMP task force targeting large-scale marijuana production in the Cariboo - North District Region was deemed successful after its 15-month mandate resulted in seizing nearly 11 tons of pot on 70 properties.
It also resulted in criminal charges being laid against 78 people.
B.C. Justice Minister Shirley Bond and Supt. Brian Cantera, officer in charge RCMP Federal Drug Enforcement Branch, praised the Cariboo Region Integrated Marijuana Enforcement (CRIME) task force at a news conference Friday.
"From a policing perspective, the results that we have seen from the CRIME project were very substantial," Cantera said. "Through strategic and targeted enforcement we were able to disrupt and dismantle the grow-ops. This prevented the illegal marijuana from being used as commodity to export and purchase other drugs, such as cocaine, or firearms.
CRIME was created to work closely with local detachments to disrupt the ability of organized crime from illegal grow-ops after the RCMP in the region identified the grow-ops as a widespread problem.
Bond announced due to the pervious success a new program will be picking up where CRIME ended.
"We want to build on the success of the CRIME program and that is why we will be providing the resources to ensure that the momentum continues," she said.
The North District Integrated Marijuana Enforcement Team (NDIME) focuses on grow-ops throughout Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House. It is stationed out of Prince George.
"The North District Integrated Marijuana Enforcement Task Force will provide expertise and support to local detachments," Bond said.
The task force will receive additional provincial support from Regional General Investigative Services and North District Criminal Intelligence Probe Team and federal support from the Integrated Proceeds of Crime Section.
NDIME includes members from Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, two RCMP Drug Enforcement branch members, and one member from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.
Unlike CRIME, this task force does not have a time limit.
"We expect this to be an ongoing program," Bond said. "I've made it very clear to our team that this type of enforcement is essential and once you build up this kind of momentum, I mean the initial results are very dramatic—11 tons of marijuana, we simply have to see that continue."
Supt. Rod Booth, acting commanding officer North District RCMP, said and on-going task force is what the region needs.
"By continuing our targeted enforcement of marijuana grow operations in north district we are clearly serving notice that organized crime groups are not welcome; I repeat, organized crime groups are not welcome in the north district."
http://www.pgfreepress.com/news/143318326.html
DeLynda Pilon
newsroom@pgfreepress.com
If you are like me, you have spent an inordinate amount of time with Catherine Willows and Horatio Caine, the crime-busting analysts who can track down baddies through spit on a stamp or a strand of hair.
Chances are though, it would be difficult to enjoy any episode of CSI with Const. Theresa Oelke from the Prince George’s Forensic Identification Section. In fact, she gets a wee bit cranky just talking about it.
“In one episode they took three partial prints, one from each number,” she said to me, pointing at the aluminum number panel on the elevator. “Then they put them together and made one print. One. Single. Print.”
Her expression said everything she needed to about that kind of science.
“And in one episode they got a print off of a kidney!” she looked at me, brows raised. “A kidney!”
Back at her desk she asked me, “So, what do you think is better. Fingerprints or DNA?”
“DNA,” I answered.
“Why?”
“Well, because ... because that’s always the bit of evidence that turns things around in those CSI shows.”
“I hate those shows,” she told me.
She went on to explain a national fingerprint office was established in Canada in the early 1900s, and in all the ensuing years no two people have ever been found to have identical fingerprints. That is not true about DNA, she said, adding that identical twins have the same DNA yet different prints. DNA results, she said, always come with a probability attached.
Oelke knows a lot about fingerprints. She also collects DNA, takes impressions of shoe prints and tire treads in all sorts of conditions and collects a multitude of various types of evidence.
She passed me a glass while we were in the lab, took it back and dusted it with white powder while holding it in what looked like a vented metal cabinet with a roof. It wasn’t long before the prints where I’d touched the glass were visible.
In a real case, the area would get a number and date, with a sticker in place to show the width. The prints are marked according to finger and placement, right or left, and a photograph is taken. The original digital copy of that is kept. But something that surprised me, the item might not be.
After all, aren’t all items related to a crime kept? Don’t we laymen hear about missing evidence all the time, and doesn’t it make us suspicious?
Oelke pointed out the original digital photograph is kept, so why should the item be? For instance, a robber breaks into a home and during the course of the robbery has a glass of juice. I laughed at her example, and so did she.
“But it happens,” she promised me.
If the glass was fine, likely it would be returned to the owner. If not, if it was broken during the course of the robbery, then what good would it be?
Where Oelke finds the prints on an item is also important. For instance, suppose she found them encircling the bottom of the glass in a way that made it clear it was being held upside down. Then it might have been used as a weapon.
Prints can tell you a lot just by where they are.
And, as any of us mystery lovers can tell you, they also identify people.
Sometimes Oelke uses prints to eliminate suspects. For example, in the case of the robbery, you would expect the home owner’s prints to be everywhere. But sometimes a print is right where it ought not to be - like on the glass the robber drank from.
Then if the police have a suspect, Oelke will compare the prints from that person to the ones she’s taken. If not, then they are run through RAFIAS, beginning with the provincial equivalent. A possible match will come back from the province in two or three days. From Ottawa it takes about three months.
Once the name of the possible match comes through, Oelke can pull up the prints (something that takes seconds) and check for a match.
The actual match is not done by a computer, like those high-tech babies on NCIS. Instead, she gets a hard copy and does it herself.
Oelke and the rest of the unit are on-scene at nearly every major crime there is in and around the city.
If they are called out to a possible homicide, the first thing they do is survey the exterior then the interior of the scene. Then they videotape both the exterior and interior. Then they photograph both the exterior and interior. The they mark any relevant evidence, from bullet holes to blood, fibre and hairs and then they photograph the scene again, taking both mid-range and close-up shots.
Then, if an expert is needed, he or she is called in.
“We might need a blood spatter expert,” she said, adding there are less than 10 in Canada. Or, perhaps someone will have to look at bullet projectory. Sometimes, like when someone reports they’ve found a pile of bones and they aren’t sure if they are human or not, or if the body is mummified, the RCMP will call in a local expert, Dr. Richard Lazenby, from the anthropology department at UNBC. For bite marks, whether on a living or dead victim, the police can use Dr. Gregory Ames and Dr. David Hodges, local odontologists.
If the crime scene is a fire, Cpl. Tod Wilson and Cst. Al Smith have the expertise to help.
When there is a body, the coroner has jurisdiction over it, but not at the scene.
“We work with the coroner to get the body out as soon as we can,” Oelke said.
That usually takes several days. Then the body goes to either Kamloops or Vancouver for a forensic autopsy.
“The coroner takes it and we usually seal it in a metal casket with numbered locks,” Oelke said, adding they do this to preserve the chain of evidence. “The scene is held until after the autopsy is done.”
Then it is released.
Meanwhile, Oelke and her team have examined tire treads, footwear prints, fingerprints and everything else.
All the evidence is gone through.
Then a report is written regarding the results of that evidence. One copy goes to the Crown who also distributes it to the defence. Thirty days before court the team is required to send a further package which includes a fingerprint chart to explain any differences between prints, like friction analysis.
Then one of them might be called to testify as an expert witness.
Knowing your stuff, whether it is the protocol in sending away DNA or perfectly identifying prints, is part of what makes you able to work in forensics identification services.
Oelke was a general duty officer until 2007. She applied for the unit and first completed a three-week assessment for suitability and aptitude. Then there is a two-month course you take in Ottawa.
“Basically they cram a two-year course into eight weeks,” she said. “Then you get a three-year apprenticeship. The first year is the hardest.”
It includes knowledge assessment and the history, methodology and philosophy behind forensics.
You also do numerous experiments, playing with different mixtures to figure out the best to use to grab a tire track in mushy snow or many other things. You are also required to identify between 75 and 100 unknown fingerprints to known sources.
If you are wrong even once, you are out.
“You never call a fingerprint unless you are 100 per cent certain,” Oelke said.
The second year you go before a board with three corporals or sergeants and undergo a 300 Q&A session. Then there is a moot trial on an actual working file.
If you pass everything, you become a technician. The third year you are a specialist.
“The RCMP is the only police force that does the apprenticeship program afterwards,” Oelke said.
But RCMP forensic analysts don’t attend the scene of a crime bouncing around in high heels.
Instead they are the use real expertise to make sense out of the chaos of a crime scene.
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DeLynda Pilon
newsroom@pgfreepress.com
Not only, with no murders in 2011, will Prince George likely lose the dubious distinction of being listed as Canada’s most violent city in Macleans next fall, but the majority of the rest of the crime statistics have also decreased over the last calendar year.
Supt. Eric Stubbs presented the stats and the current strategic plan for the city, and asked for input for the upcoming plan at a committee as a whole meeting Wednesday night.
Stubbs said the RCMP’s fiscal year runs from April to April, so this is when they plan what priorities and goals will be set for the upcoming year.
Statistically, based on the previous calendar year, it’s been a good year for the city when it comes to fighting crime. General calls for service dropped by 1,000 calls, public intoxication dropped 6.5 per cent, and the majority of persons offences also dropped.
A substantial increase in the number of people caught consuming liquor in a public place, a 43.2 per cent rise, can be explained, Stubbs said, by understanding this is a proactive charge.
However, the rise in false alarms, at 28 per cent, with a 61.5 per cent rise in false or abandoned 911 calls, concerns him because of the waste of officer’s time those numbers represent.
“Those are a waste of our time. When you add up those numbers, that is 3,200 calls we didn’t need to go to,” he said.
He added he hopes a recently passed city bylaw, levying a fine on homes and businesses that experience a false alarm, will help decrease those numbers.
Murder, assault with a weapon, assault or trespass, robbery and criminal harassment are all down, however there was a rise of 3.2 per cent in sex assaults.
Every category under property offences dropped.
“I’m happy to see break and enters in businesses and residences creep down,” Stubbs said.
Stubbs pointed out there are a lot of break and enters in the city and he’d like to further decrease the numbers.
Indecent acts, a crime Stubbs said has been reported a lot in the media in the last months, rose by 119 per cent. He said he expects there will be a drop in incidents since a couple of the suspects have been identified and confronted.
Breach of probation, which is also dealt with proactively according to Stubbs, rose 31.1 per cent.
Targeting upper-level dealers caused a rise in the number of arrests for trafficking cannabis. Possession of the substance arrests also rose.
There was also a significant rise in certain traffic violations.
“The impaired driving numbers are way up,” he said, adding that crime is something they focus on as a province.
Recent changes in regulations have made it quicker for police to go after more violators.
Domestic violence, including assault, rose 3.4 per cent.
“This is something people in the community don’t see,” he said, adding there were 900 domestic violence calls in total last year, breaking down to two to three per day.
Stubbs pointed out there is a need for a family violence unit in the city, and that is a resource usually available in a municipality the size of Prince George.
“We need to spend more time to support the victim but we don’t have the resources. It’s obvious we want to help and lower those calls,” he said.
The four priorities set for 2011 included the Downtown Enforcement Unit, organized crime, the crime reduction unit and youth at risk.
Mayor Shari Green said those goals align well with what is important to her and the community and asked how domestic violence calls are currently handled.
Victims Services, Stubbs said, currently play an important role in the support required, however because they are not police officers, they are limitted in what they can do in certain instances.
Coun. Lyn Hall added he would be very supportive of a domestic violence unit in the city.
http://www.pgfreepress.com/news/139037989.html
DeLynda Pilon
newsroom@pgfreepress.com
A civil suit has been filed against the RCMP on behalf of the Willey family over the in-custody death of Clayton Alvin Willey in 2003.
Willey's parents, Gloria and Brian, along with his sister, Bryna and Willey's young son, who bears his father's name, gathered in the office of their lawyer, Simon Wagstaffe, Tuesday afternoon to talk about their plans going forward following the recent release of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) interim report and the RCMP's response.
Yvonne Shuman, a long-time family friend, spoke on their behalf.
"We believe we have enough. We are going to proceed to trial," she said, adding they feel there are many inconsistencies in the treatment of Willey as well as the investigation into it and the CPC report.
Those inconsistencies, she said, include the use of excessive force by officers.
"They tortured and murdered him is what they done," Brian said.
Shuman added it was unreasonable to use the Taser on Willey, who was hog-tied during his arrest.
She said Tasers are a tool used by the RCMP, but their effects haven't been properly researched to the degree needed. Officers don't know what reaction the discharge of a Taser will have on someone with a drug or heart problem.
Willey had both.
"He had a valve problem with his heart. It's in his file. They knew this. They should have known this," she said.
"When Tasers were brought in, they were labelled as apprehension tools," Gloria added.
Shuman said the family feels Serious Crimes didn't question the inconsistencies, and gave up on the investigation into the actions of the officers involved as soon as the pathologist said Willey died of a cocaine overdose.
"They had their way out," Brian said.
He, along with the rest of the family, question the official cause of death finding.
"If you overdose on cocaine it's immediate, not two days later," Brian said.
Regarding the Tasering, he said "If he's hog-tied, how could he be a threat to anyone? This is not justice. This is torture and they murdered him."
Shuman added one of the officers present had his level three first aid certificate and acknowledged that, when Willey was loaded into a police vehicle at Parkwood Mall, he was put in a recovery position.
"They removed him very viciously and drug him by his feet into the booking room," she said.
There, she said, he was left on his chest, hog-tied. The earlier altercation knocked a molar from his mouth, she said, which meant it was full of blood and pepper spray, which was discharged during the arrest.
She disagrees with officers who said he was still struggling with them at that time and said she believes his injuries and the position he was laid in resulted in his actions.
"He was wriggling around, trying to save his own life. He had a mother, a father, a child and a fiancé."
"My son was not a murderer," his mother added. "He was not a pedophile. He was not a rapist. So why did they have to kill him? I don't want to see another family go through this."
The repercussions of Willey's death nine years ago still reverberate through the family. Shuman said Gloria can not work and has been ill from the stress. Brian, who became emotional during the press conference, had to leave the room. Bryna said her life is a lot emptier without her brother in it and added she never dreamed nine years ago that she would be doing what she is today.
"We're still fighting this fight for my brother nine years later," she said. "We're here till the end."
Shuman pointed out the loss is devastating to Willey's son.
"This little boy will never know his dad."
Much of what he will know of him, she said, will come from press reports over this case.
If Willey had been an animal, she added, his treatment at the hands of officials would have been better.
"It's inhumane. If he was a maimed animal, he would have been put down peacefully."
One outcome the family would like to see from a trial is a change in the official cause of death. Shuman said she feels it should be listed as criminal negligence causing death.
They are also hoping for an apology, or some kind of acceptance of what was done.
Though Supt. Eric Stubbs said at a press conference following the release of the CPC report he wished to speak to the family, that hasn't happened yet, though Wagstaffe said Stubbs has contacted him.
"I don't think he's trying to delay," he said.
Wagstaffe added that a more detailed report regarding the family's position will be available within the next 30 days.
http://www.pgfreepress.com/news/138955309.html
A 38-year-old wheelchair-confined Prince George man was freed from his captors by police after they got a tip he was being held against his will.
Cpl. Craig Douglass, media liaison for the Prince George RCMP, said the pair involved in the kidnapping were trying to force the man, who was not physically harmed during the incident, to recant an earlier statement.
“The suspects got together and confronted the person in the wheelchair who provided information to the police about another file in which the son is the accused. They were holding him so he could recant his statement on Monday,” he said.
After receiving the tip on Feb. 3, police attended the residence on the 7300 block of Thompson Drive and found 39-year-old Grace Ingrid Heidemann with the victim and took her into custody.
Further investigation led officers to believe that Edward Thomas Harris, 28, had threatened the victim in order to get him to recant a statement against Eric Heidemann, the woman’s 22-year-old son.
Provincial Crown counsel approved charges of forcible confinement, kidnapping, intimidation of a justice system participant and utter threats against both Grace Heidemann and Harris.
Both were remanded into custody until a court appearance scheduled for Feb. 7.
http://www.pgfreepress.com/news/138887554.html
DeLynda Pilon
newsroom@pgfreepress.com
The RCMP agree that the 14 months it took for them to respond to the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) interim report, which was generated following the death of Clayton Alvin Willey while he was in custody one day after his violent arrest in 2003, was too long.
“The arrest was very difficult and took enormous effort,” Supt. Eric Stubbs said in a press conference Tuesday.
However, no reason was found to pursue any charges with the level of force used, he added.
This level of force included pulling the man, who was restrained in a manner commonly referred to as being ‘hog-tied’, from a police vehicle, then dragged to cells while being Tasered numerous times.
“But the treatment was inappropriate,” Stubbs agreed.
He added the conduct was below his personal standards and the ones he has set for the men and women who work at the Prince George detachment.
Both Supt. Rod Booth, acting officer in charge of the North District RCMP, and Stubbs agreed there have been many changes in procedure and policy since the death of Willey in 2003, and steps will be taken to follow up on further recommendations within the CPC report.
For example, Booth said changes have been made with training, particularly in de-escalation measures, and use of force options as well as the use of a Taser.
One recommendation already implemented includes fully informing health care professionals about information regarding a patient who is being transferred from cells into medical care.
However, Booth said there was no finding that, had paramedics been aware Willey was high on cocaine, it would have prevented his death from an overdose in the hospital the next day.
Booth added there have been a number of investigations into the death of Willey since it happened in 2003, from E Division major crimes to a coroner’s inquest in 2004 which concluded Willey died of a cocaine overdose, to in-depth officer reviews, code of conduct reviews and an investigation concluded by the Edmonton police.
None of the officers involved in the incident were charged by crown counsel, and none were found to warrant further action.
The officers involved are active members of the RCMP though many have moved on to different locations.
Booth added, though he stands by the decision made by those who took part in the code of conduct investigations, if they were faced with a choice at this point there may have been a different finding to some aspects of this investigation.
Carrier Sekani Tribal Council vice chief Terry Teegee said the outcome of the investigation is pretty concerning.
Teegee said the Carrier Sekani council was one of the entities that originally stepped forward and questioned the actions of the RCMP in this matter.
“It’s been eight and a half years. This person was arrested and he’s dead. There are still a lot of unanswered questions among Aboriginal people. The RCMP code of conduct is quite concerning,” he said.
He added the concern is not only among Aboriginals, but the public in general.
Though he doesn’t claim to be a doctor, Teegee said he believes the force used by the officers as well as the shock of the Tasering contributed to Willey’s death.
“It exacerbated his condition.
“If you are arrested, you shouldn’t wind up dead,” he said.
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