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Update on hering into Kevin Tokarchuk
shooting by police - September, 2004 | Danny
Tokarchik trial | Monique
Turenne | Winnipeg
Police | Chief
Boothby's apology | How the LAPD
set about to clean itself up |
Police hearing
will be private
Winnipeg Sun, July 14, 2004
The details of an internal
squabble between Winnipeg police Chief Jack Ewatski and six officers
involved in a controversial murder investigation will be kept
private.
Provincially appointed arbitrator
Gavin Wood announced yesterday an arbitration hearing next month
will be held in-camera.
Both sides were concerned the
identity of a police informant would be revealed, along with
personal details about the officers.
The hearing, which is scheduled
to start Aug. 31, pits Ewatski against six unnamed cops involved
in the ongoing investigation of an apparent gang hit on Kevin
Tokarchuk in May 2003.
Eight cops were put on administrative
leave by Ewatski in the weeks following the murder amid allegations
they had information in July 2002 about a plot to kill Tokarchuk
but failed to warn him or his family. Two of the cops have since
retired.
The remaining six have since
been reinstated after an Alberta Crown prosecutor cleared them
of any criminal wrongdoing.
Last month, the officers filed
a grievance through the police union against Ewatski.
Note: Gavin Wood was hired
by Pat Turenne to administer mediation in David Turenne's estate.
Pat Turenne, as executrix of Turenne's estate, has failed to
fulfil her duties. She did not pay off debts promptly. She did
not pursue fraudulant credit card purchases made on David Turenne's
credit card after his death. In fact she has stonewalled any
avenues which might lead to the truth about her brother's death.
Instead she has relentlessly prevented Monique Turenne and her
children from gaining access to money from the state: dental
care, university fees, normal expenses. Pat Turenne also went
to the media and told them Monique
Turenne was receiving large amounts of money, something which
was never true and served only to smear Monique Turenne in her
efforts to clear her name through a proper trial in Canada.
Ontario police review
Tokarchuk report
CBC, May 12 2004
WINNIPEG -An internal police
review of the murder of Kevin Tokarchuk is now in the hands of
an external police organization.
Kevin Tokarchuk
Twenty-four-year-old Tokarchuk was shot to death in his family's
garage one year ago today in what police described as a gang-retribution
killing. Days after his death, it was revealed police knew about
a plot to kill him, but didn't warn the family.
An internal investigation followed.
Seven officers were put on paid leave for seven months; another
officer retired during the investigation. The officers were eventually
cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.
This week, the Ontario Provincial
Police began reviewing a report on Tokarchuk's murder by the
Winnipeg Police professional standards unit, which has spent
the last year investigating how officers handled the tip about
the murder.
Winnipeg Police Chief Jack
Ewatski says he has not read the report.
"Certainly I have a level
of information that is appropriate for me to have at this point
in time," he says. "I would prefer to see the finished
product."
· Family anxious
for answers ·
Police say Tokarchuk's shooting
was related to the murder of a Hells Angels associate exactly
one year earlier. Tokarchuk's brother, Daniel, has been charged
with that killing. Kevin Tokarchuk had no connection to organized
crime.
Kevin's mother, Diane Tokarchuk,
says she is anxious to get answers. "I worry about everyone's
safety," she said in an e-mail about the anniversary of
the murders.
Chief Ewatski says he doesn't
know when the OPP will make any recommendations.
"We're not going to put
any timelines on it. I don't want them to think they are under
any time constraints," he says. "I'm sure they will
do a very thorough analysis of the investigation. It will take
as long as it takes."
Ewatski won't commit to releasing
any information to the public after the OPP's review of the report
is complete.
"The family will be briefed
relative to what our investigation has turned up and any other
aspects regarding that. We owe that to the family."
Provincial officials had said
they would conduct their own external review of the case, but
a spokesperson for Manitoba Justice now says if the OPP review
is comprehensive enough, the department will not do its own review.
No one has been arrested or
charged with the shooting of Kevin Tokarchuk.
Cop snitch called for
To solve Tokarchuk murder
By CARY CASTAGNA, POLICE
REPORTER, Winnipeg Sun, May 12, 2004
Homicide detectives need a
gangster to become a police informant if they're ever going to
solve the one-year-old Kevin Tokarchuk murder investigation,
says a friend of the victim's family. "Until they (police)
get someone to roll over, I don't think we've got much of anything,"
Jack McLaughlin told The Sun yesterday. "And the loyalty
among gangs is much better than what we have among people."
One year ago today, Tokarchuk,
24, was gunned down in the garage of his family's home at 363
Churchill Dr., in Fort Rouge.
The May 12 slaying coincided
with the one-year anniversary of the 2002 shooting death of 25-year-old
Hells Angels associate Trevor (Boss) Savoie -- for which Tokarchuk's
older brother, Daniel, is awaiting trial.
It is widely believed Tokarchuk's
death was an eye-for-an-eye revenge killing carried out by someone
associated with the outlaw motorcycle gang and its underlings.
"But they've got no proof.
I've been able to find nothing," McLaughlin said.
"There's some rumours
around that maybe the guy that did it is already dead, but there's
nothing to substantiate it."
Witnesses told police they
saw a man riding a motorcycle in the area about the time of the
shooting.
Shortly after the slaying,
a group with ties to the Hells Angels was allegedly seen at Savoie's
grave site, toasting it with champagne.
No arrests have been made in
the case, which remains under investigation, said Winnipeg police
spokeswoman Const. Shelly Glover.
Tokarchuk's mother, Diane Tokarchuk,
declined to say yesterday whether she was hopeful about an eventual
arrest in the mysterious case.
"We're just waiting to
see what happens," she said, adding it's been a tough week
with the first anniversary of the slaying. "It's everything
all over again."
Police still face allegations
that an informant warned them about the planned gang hit in July
2002. The family claims neither they nor Tokarchuk were ever
told about the murder plot.
Eight cops were placed on paid
administrative leave last May and June, but they have since been
reinstated or have retired.
An Alberta Crown prosecutor
cleared all officers of any criminal wrongdoing.
Now an external review is being
conducted to determine if any disciplinary action is warranted.
"The completed Winnipeg
Police Service internal investigation has been provided to the
Ontario Provincial Police for their independent review to determine
thoroughness, objectivity and completeness of the investigation,"
Glover said.
Tip about killing forwarded
to higher-ups: officer
CBC, Jan
27, 2004
WINNIPEG -For the first time,
the officer who received a tip about the murder of a young Winnipeg
man is telling his side of the story.
Kevin Tokarchuk
Twenty-four-year-old Kevin Tokarchuk had no connection to organized
crime when he was was gunned down in his family's garage in the
spring of 2004.
Police say the shooting was
revenge for the murder of a Hells Angels associate exactly one
year earlier; Tokarchuk's brother, Daniel, has been charged with
that killing.
Shortly after the shooting,
Winnipeg's police chief revealed that officers had been warned
Kevin could be killed, but they didn't tell him or his family.
Eight Winnipeg police officers were put on paid leave during
an internal investigation of the situation.
Recently retired Det. Sgt.
Jeff Bellingham is one of the officers who received the tip.
Though he won't talk about the murder, in an e-mail to CBC news,
he says the information received regarding Kevin Tokarchuk was
forwarded on through the chain of command.
"If I were to assume the
responsibility of following up on all information which I had
received, I could very well end up utilizing the majority of
my time investigating home invasions, bank robberies, murders,
etc.," he writes. "One has to have confidence in his
supervisors that appropriate action would be taken."
Manitoba's justice minister
has ordered his own independent review of the situation.
The Winnipeg police internal
investigation is still ongoing; it's unlikely the report will
be made public. Bellingham and seven other officers have been
cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.
full text of E-mail from
retired Det. Sgt. Jeff Bellingham to CBC
on the Tokarchuk tip
... The information provided
regarding Mr. Tokarchuk was indeed serious, but it was only a
small portion of the information we received, which included
the most serious of criminal activities.
As a drug unit supervisor and
investigator, my mandate was to investigate crimes associated
with the production, distribution, and proceeds of illicit drug
related activity. It is a regular occurrence to receive information
relating to crimes of a differing nature, and that information
is subsequently passed on to the unit tasked with investigating
those crimes.
The same is true if for instance
a homicide officer received information in regards to drug trafficking.
That officer would not investigate the matter, he would pass
the information on to myself, and it would be my responsibility
to assess the information and take appropriate action.
Drug trafficking in Winnipeg
is rampant and there are but a handful of officers assigned to
investigate those matters on a full time basis. If I were to
assume the responsibility of following up on all information
which I had received, I could very well end up utilizing the
majority of my time investigating home invasions, bank robberies,
murder's, etc.. Not only would this be contradictory and have
a negative impact to my assigned function, I would be criticized
by the units responsible for investigating those offenses.
The other factor that has to
be addressed is the protection considerations of a source who
is providing information. It is our legal responsibility to protect
the identity of a source as best we can.
If for instance I received
information regarding a home invasion, and began investigating
and making inquiries regarding that specific offence, I would
ultimately be revealing that not only does the source of that
information have an intimate knowledge of that offence, it is
also someone who is involved in the drug subculture.
Those two factors combined
could either immediately identify the source of the information,
or narrow the possibilities of who the source may be to a dangerous
level. The limited size of Winnipeg, and persons involved in
its criminal underground, dictate that source information has
to be handled with the utmost of care.
The simple fact is that the
information received regarding Mr. Tokarchuk was forwarded through
the chain of command, and one has to have confidence in his supervisors
that appropriate action would be taken. If this was an incident
and information specific to a drug trafficker, it may ultimately
have been my responsibility to address the matter and ensure
appropriate action was taken.
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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
