- Kenora
police framed murder charge:Ignored evidence against detective's
nephew, judge says | Scott
Gobeils: Fort Frances OPP | Toronto
Police 2005
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- Kenora, Ontario
Police
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Officers face misconduct charges
Carambetsos's civil claim
'fairly imminent': lawyer
By Janet Gibson, Miner and
News, Thursday December 09, 2004
Wednesday's announcement that
Kenora Police Chief George Curtis will lay charges against two
of his officers under the Police Services Act for their misconduct
in the Max Kakegamic death investigation, won't stop Justin Carambetsos,
the subject of the investigation until a Superior Court Justice
stayed the charge of manslaughter earlier this year, from proceeding
with a civil claim for malicious prosecution.
"It's too little, too
late," said Carambetsos's lawyer Charles Sinclair said of
the planned charges, adding filing the claim is "fairly
imminent."
Sinclair said he didn't know if the claim would name Kenora Police
Services Board, Kenora Police Service, the City of Kenora, and/or
individual police officers.
Sinclair's law firm Sack, Goldblatt,
Mitchell sent a letter to the city June 30. Kenora Police Services
Board chairman Ron Lunny said he forwarded the letter, which
included the threat of litigation, to the city's insurer, Frank
Cowan Company.
Sinclair said he'd received
a reply from the city's lawyer.
Curtis decided to lay charges
after reviewing a report from OPP Det. Insp. Bob Deasy. Deasy
was asked by Curtis to look into several areas of misconduct
described by Superior Court Justice Peter Hambly in his ruling
to stay the manslaughter charge.
The Kenora Police Service reported
in a press release Wednesday that Curtis "has identified
misconduct on the parts of Sergeants Tom Favreau and Lloyd White.
As a result, both of these officers shall be facing charges under
the code of conduct of the Ontario Police Services Act."
Curtis will decide how much
of the report he'll make public "once the whole process
is complete," Kenora Police spokesman Bob Bernie said, adding
Curtis may release "excerpts from it."
Curtis has asked the professional
standards branch of an outside metropolitan police force to ensure
a process is developed for dealing with these matters and that
the proper charges are laid.
He hopes to start the process
before Christmas, Bernie said.
A
dark day for justice
By Bob Stewart, editor,
Kenora Miner and News December 09, 2004
Canada's Criminal Code is quite
clear -- lying to mislead a court is a crime. That's why I, like
many others, was dumbfounded when an investigation into the actions
of three Kenora Police Services officers involved in the Carambetsos
manslaughter case recommended no criminal charges be laid.
Carambetsos was charged with second degree murder in the death
of Max Kakegamic on Oct. 4, 2000. The case was reduced to manslaughter
following a preliminary hearing, and after many twists and turns,
was finally presented to a jury this past January.
The trial, which began in mid-January, quickly bogged down in
hearings on evidence motions and ended with the dismissal of
the jury, followed by a stay of proceedings ruling.
The turning point was documented evidence of lying by Sgt. Lloyd
White, a senior constable at the time of Kakegamic's death and
lead investigator in the case.
Even though he admitted in court to lying under oath in response
to direct questions while on the witness stand, he broke no laws.
That's the conclusion of Ontario Provincial Police Detective
Inspector Bob Deasy.
Deasy, in a report delivered to Kenora Police Chief George Curtis
late last month, concluded that while there were a number of
issues related to the murder investigation, none were criminal
in nature.
To being dumbfounded by that conclusion, you can add disgusted.
Deasy noted one reason for the length of his investigation, which
began after Curtis called on the provincial force for an independent
review of the officers' conduct following Hambly's stay of proceedings
ruling and findings delivered Feb. 18, was because "we had
to amass all volumes of transcripts in this case and read them,
from bail hearing on."
How he could have done that and not found grounds for charging
White with perjury is beyond me.
No doubt
Hambly's finding of police misconduct was unequivocal. Since
his ruling I've heard the judge's findings referred as 'suggestions'
and 'allegations.' They weren't.
His 57-page ruling -- with its damning indictment of White, Sgt.
Tom Favreau and Const. Chris Ratchford -- left no doubt about
his conclusions and the reasons he was staying the proceedings.
"What they did was to use the power of the state to gather
evidence to support their conclusion that Justin Carambetsos
was guilty. Not only did they do that, they used the power of
the state to suppress evidence which supported the accused's
innocence. This conduct is unacceptable."
Most damning of all was his view on the veracity of the officers.
In his review of the history of the case Justice Hambly cited
numerous instances where the evidence lead him to conclude all
three officers had mislead and lied to fellow officers, Crown
attorneys and the court.
"The evidence of Favreau, White and Ratchford has no credibility
in these proceedings. I find with regret that I cannot accept
anything that these officers say unless it is corroborated by
reliable, independent evidence," wrote Hambly.
Now, some may dispute Hambly's conclusions, argue he got it wrong
when weighing the evidence, as Deasy has done with his exoneration
of the officers on Criminal Code offences.
But White's lying -- in regard to a detailed declaration of innocence
by Carambetsos of how he had found Kakegamic at a downtown apartment,
removed him and left him alive on the street -- isn't open to
debate or doubt.
White admitted to Justice Hambly on Jan. 26, during motions proceedings,
that he'd lied about the statement. The admission came after
he was presented with a written summation of Carambetsos' statement
to him, contained in a detailed chronology of the case sent by
then Sgt., now Deputy Chief Dan Jorgensen, who was the forensics
officer assigned to the case -- along with various clothing and
blood samples for forensics testing at a provincial facility.
Until then, he had steadfastly insisted Carambetsos had said
nothing of consequence to him during initial questioning. He
maintained that lie when questioned by other investigators, by
Crown attorneys and in several appearances on the witness stand
during the three years the case dragged through the courts.
The only explanation White offered to Hambly this January for
lying about the statement's existence was that, in questioning
Carambetsos without a lawyer present, even though he wasn't supposed
to, he had told Carambetsos anything he said would be 'off the
record'.
That's a weak excuse, White is a veteran police officer. He knows
what the law is, what his duty is and what the oath he took to
tell the truth in court means. He chose to ignore all three.
Code is clear
Perjury by a witness is a serious offence, it carries a maximum
penalty of 14 years in prison.
Section 131 of the Criminal Code reads: "Every one commits
perjury who, with intent to mislead, makes before a person who
is authorized by law to permit it to be made before him a false
statement under oath or solemn affirmation, by affidavit, solemn
declaration or deposition or orally, knowing that the statement
is false."
White lied in court, the forensics file prepared by Jorgensen
proved it and White admitted to it.
Whether the lie was intended to mislead, as proving a charge
of perjury requires, is something for a court not a police officer
to decide.
Deasy declined to explain why his conclusion of the seriousness
of the officers' actions differs so greatly from Justice Hambly's.
And he refused to discuss in any way White's admission of lying
on the witness stand.
All he offered by way of explanation is that "many others"
reviewed his report before it was handed to Curtis.
This week Curtis completed his review of Deasy's report -- not
surprisingly, no Criminal Code charges will be laid. Curtis also
concluded there was no wrongdoing by Jorgensen and Ratchford.
Clearing Jorgensen isn't a surprise, Hambly too assigned no blame
to him and in fact praised him for his conduct.
Favreau and White will face misconduct, but not criminal, charges
-- the charges will be laid under the Ontario Police Services
Act, where the severest penalty is dismissal from the force.
It's a dark day for justice when Ontario's provincial police
force concludes a police officer lying on the witness stand doesn't
constitute a crime.
Cops'
close call
No criminal charges in case
By DAVID SCHMEICHEL,
STAFF REPORTER, Winnipeg Sun, December 2, 2004
Three Kenora police officers
won't face criminal charges as a result of alleged misconduct
during a 2000 manslaughter investigation, an Ontario Provincial
Police review ruled. But the men may still be charged under the
Police Services Act, the Kenora Police Service confirmed yesterday.
The OPP was asked to investigate
the officers' actions last February after Superior Court Justice
Peter Hambly stayed a manslaughter charge against Kenora resident
Justin Carambetsos.
In his ruling, Hambly suggested
the cops -- case manager Sgt. Tom Favreau, lead investigator
Lloyd White, and file manager Chris Ratchford -- failed to investigate
the case impartially.
Hambly also claimed they ignored
a second possible suspect who happened to be a nephew of Favreau's.
"What they did was use
the power of the state to gather evidence to support their conclusion
that ... Carambetsos was guilty," Hambly said in his ruling.
"They used the power of the state to suppress evidence which
supported the accused's innocence."
Kenora police Chief George
Curtis asked the OPP to launch the investigation, which yesterday
reported a number of issues relating to the investigation had
been identified, but none were found to be criminal in nature.
The matter has now been referred
back to Curtis for an internal review.
"The chief will have to
decide (if there will be) charges under the Police Services Act,"
Kenora police spokesman Bob Bernie said yesterday, adding Curtis
will likely release a detailed press release in two weeks.
OPP Det. Insp. Robert Deasy
said yesterday he wouldn't comment on the apparent disparity
between Hambly's ruling and the OPP's finding of no criminal
wrongdoing until after Curtis deals with the report.
MISTRIALS
"The case is still live
and open," Deasy said. "It's in the chief's realm."
Carambetsos was originally
accused of second-degree murder in the Oct. 4, 2000, death of
28-year-old Max Kakegamic. The charge was reduced to manslaughter
in June 2001. The case twice resulted in mistrials -- once in
November 2002 and again in January 2004.
Favreau and White were reassigned
to administrative duties after Hambly's ruling was released.
Favreau is on sick leave, Bernie said yesterday.
Ratchford was not reassigned.
Plenty of First Nations
recruits for area police forces
By Mike Aiken, from Univerity
of Manitoba Aboriginal Students' Association
Recruiters for local police
forces aren't having any difficulty getting applications from
the aboriginal community.
Despite media reports of tension
between aboriginal communities and law enforcement, all three
area services said they were encouraged by the response to their
advertisements.
While acknowledging there is
a lot of friction at times between his officers and members of
the aboriginal community, Deputy Chief Dan Jorgensen of the Kenora
Police Service also emphasized the value of young aboriginal
officers who understand both the culture and language of local
First Nations.
He also downplayed the force's
image of being hard on aboriginal people.
"I don't think we're a
police force of racists," said Jorgensen.
He said the addition of First
Nations officers would help lower tensions between police and
aboriginal residents, which have been high in recent months following
the staying of charges against Justin Carambetsos in the beating
death of Max Kakegamic.
Justice Peter Hambly made the
ruling in February the handling of the case by Kenora police
made it impossible for Carambetsos to receive a fair trial. Tensions
were also high during the investigation into the disappearance
of Chippy McDonald, which was conducted by the OPP in 2000.
Included in
hiring process
Jorgensen said he had posted
recruitment ads in First Nations media, as well as local band
offices, as part of the current hiring process for a new recruit.
He hoped to visit bands to discuss career opportunities.
Treaty 3 spokesman Adolphus
Cameron has been critical of the police work in the past, saying
an Ojibway life wasn't treated the same as a non-aboriginal's.
But on Thursday he was encouraged
by Jorgensen's offer to visit local reserves to talk about careers
in law enforcement.
"That would be excellent.
First Nations communities would really welcome that," he
said, noting community members left out of recruiting programs.
While Kenora police have received
many strong applications from First Nations applicants, the deputy
chief added there were also many non-aboriginal applicants with
university degrees, who are sought after by hiring panels.
Meanwhile, Treaty 3 Police
Service is looking to hire an estimated 15 officers in the coming
months, and they continue to advertise in aboriginal media.
Chief Brian Rupert says 78
per cent of his staff, or 43 of 55 officers, are of aboriginal
ancestry, but he would like to have more.
"It's our objective to
have an aboriginal police force," he said.
Their recent recruiting drive
resulted in 150 applicants, of which 16 were interviewed by the
board and 14 took provincial testing, said deputy chief Wally
McLeod in June.
Aboriginal recruiting efforts
by the Ontario Provincial Police included a five-day orientation
program called OPP Bound. Now in its second year, the initiative
focused on aboriginal candidates this summer.
300 applicants
Organizers received more than
300 applications and chose 92, said Sgt. Kristine Cholette, noting
about 80 completed testing on the last day.
"That shows you that they
have an interest in policing," she said.
In addition, the OPP supplies
support for investigations, community policing and community
services for 36 First Nations across the province, along with
training support and awareness seminars for public and private
sector companies.
The Treaty 3 Police Service
went into service last summer, and is still taking over responsibility
from the OPP and RCMP in 28 First Nation communities in Northwestern
Ontario and eastern Manitoba.
The aboriginal police force
was created in response to a need for a more culturally sensitive
law enforcement agency in the area.
In the near north, the Nishnawbe-Aski
Police Service is looking for aboriginal candidates for its auxiliary
service. Those interested in a career in law enforcement will
have the $5,000 training fee waived, if they join the auxiliary."We're
up and running and we're going to hold the riding for the Liberals,"
he said. "We're going to carry on the work Bob started."
OPP to investigate Kenora
police
Mar. 23, 2004
Toronto -- The Ontario Provincial
Police have been asked to investigate police in the Northern
Ontario community of Kenora after a judge ruled local officers
suppressed evidence capable of showing they charged an innocent
man in a killing, Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter said
yesterday.
Mr. Justice Peter Hambly of
Ontario Superior Court stopped the murder trial of Justin Carambetsos
and harshly condemned Kenora police for misleading the Crown
and defence about the existence of another suspect -- a nephew
of the lead investigator in the case.
The judge accused Sergeant
Thomas Favreau, Sergeant Lloyd White and, to a lesser extent,
Constable Chris Ratchford of "egregious acts of misconduct,"
which include suppressing critical evidence, perjury and failing
to investigate Danny Favreau. CP
© 2004 Bell Globemedia
Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
- Judge blasts Kenora
officers
Police found to have lied under oath in court
Manslaughter charge against man stayed
KATE HARRIES, ONTARIO REPORTER,
Toronto Star, Mar. 22, 2004
The Kenora police force is
at the centre of a storm of controversy after a damning ruling
from a judge who found that officers lied under oath, withheld
evidence, and failed to investigate a possible suspect who was
related to one of them.
"These officers were a
force unto themselves," wrote Mr. Justice Peter Hambly in
a Feb. 18 decision that was released Friday.
"The courts can sometimes
tolerate police inexperience, blunders, mistakes and inefficiency
... What the courts cannot tolerate is police dishonesty."
Hambly last month stayed charges
against bar owner Justin Carambetsos, 28, on trial for manslaughter
in the Oct. 4, 2000, death of Max Kakegamic, also 28, of North
Spirit Lake First Nation.
In his 55-page ruling, the
judge found that the existence of a detailed statement Carambetsos
made after his arrest - in which he protested his innocence -
was concealed from both the crown and the defence.
Hambly imposed a 30-day publication
ban on his reasons to avoid tainting a jury should the crown
decide to appeal. No appeal was filed.
Northern aboriginal leaders
are calling for a public inquiry into the botched probe, in a
community where aboriginals have long complained about their
treatment by police. There are 33 officers on the Kenora force.
"I'm quite bitter that
they abused their power the way they did," Carambetsos said
in a telephone interview from the Whistling Monkey, his pub in
Kenora, a city of 15,000.
He recalled his fear that he
would be convicted and sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit
as he listened to the officers lying on the witness stand. "I
don't think they should be in policing."
The officers ignored evidence
pointing to another suspect, the nephew of one of the officers,
Hambly wrote.
"The conduct of (Sergeant
Lloyd) White and (Sergeant Tom) Favreau constitutes deliberate
state action aimed at the exclusion of relevant evidence from
the judicial process," wrote Hambly, a Kitchener judge who
was brought in to preside over the trial.
A third officer, Constable
Chris Ratchford, also "likely" fabricated evidence,
Hambly wrote, stating: "I find with regret that I cannot
accept anything that these three officers say unless it is corroborated
by reliable, independent evidence."
Kenora Police Chief George
Curtis called in the OPP on Feb. 20 to investigate, and has re-assigned
White and Favreau to administrative duties.
Hambly noted that the case
exacerbated racial tension in Kenora. Aboriginals staged protests
when Carambetsos was released on bail in October, 2000, after
being held in custody for eight days, charging that a native
accused in the killing of a non-native would not have been released.
But it wasn't widely known
then that Carambetsos is Metis.
Stan Beardy, Grand Chief of
the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, has called on the province to hold
a public inquiry into the actions of Kenora police.
The case against Carambetsos
fell apart two days after the trial started in January, when
defence lawyer David Gibson was cross-examining Dan Jorgensen,
the identification officer in the case.
In his notes, Jorgensen detailed
the account Carambetsos had given to White: that a female neighbour
had asked for his assistance when she found Kakegamic collapsed
in her apartment, and that the man was drunk, but alive, when
he escorted him to the street.
Kakegamic was found at that
spot some time later, dead from an apparent beating.
Doubts about the case were
first raised in 2001 when, unknown to the public, crown attorney
Dan Mitchell wrote a letter to Chief Curtis complaining that
another suspect had not been investigated.
The other possible suspect,
Favreau's nephew, has a criminal record for theft and is known
to prey on helpless drunks, Hambly wrote.
Hambly noted that Mitchell
complained that Jorgensen was "reproached" and described
as a "mole" for communicating with the prosecutor.
"It is a measure of the
extent to which senior police officers in the Kenora Police Service
misunderstood their proper role that a police officer who made
proper disclosure to the crown attorney could be described by
his fellow officers as a `mole,'" Hambly wrote.
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
