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offence (police are not exempt) | RCMP
culture of secrecy | Arthur
Dagenais' civil claim of malicious prosecution against the RCMP
While he was the subject of
a nation-wide manhunt, and before he surrendered himself to the
police in Spiritwood, Curtis Dagenais was the target of widespread
media character assassination, largely driven by the RCMP (see
article on why RCMP believe the public
has no right to know about how they do their jobs). The local
media, once again, slavishly took RCMP media releases as fully
truthful and factual during the days leading up to the funerals
for the two slain officers.
It seemed unseemly then --
and paerhaps some would say that it still is today -- to ask
where the third police officer has been transferred to, and,
more importantly, why were these inexperienced officers engaged
in a high speed chase in the first place?
The arrest of Curtis Dagenais'
father seems to have been a further police action to intimidate
and shut up someone who could give another side to this story,
the immediate spisodes of whicharose from a family dispure. In
the meantime Athur Dagenais ex-wife Elsie and daughter Grace
have been given full freedom to spin their own version.
According to the letter Curtis
wrote while he was on the run, and reading between the lines,
it would appear that these two had previously conspired to have
the father falsely charged with sexual offences. (letter in right
column.)
Betty Ann Adam has recently
been investigating this story and writing good reports.
Curtis Dagenais
Can he get
a fair trial?
Crown opposes release of Dagenais Sr.
Father of accused murderer faces obstruction charge;release decision
Aug. 14
Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix, Friday, August 04, 2006
NORTH BATTLEFORD -- Arthur
Dagenais, the father of accused murderer Curtis Dagenais, will
remain in custody until Aug. 14, when a Battlefords judge will
decide whether the elder Dagenais will be released on electronic
monitoring to await his trial for obstruction of justice.
Arthur Levi Dagenais, 69, has
been in jail since July 8, when he was arrested after allegedly
ignoring a police order to stay out of a restricted RCMP search
area, which included his farm, Queen's Bench Justice Donald Krueger
heard Thursday. The Crown earlier stayed a charge of possession
of an unregistered .22-calibre rifle.
Arthur Dagenais was originally
denied release July 14 in provincial court, after Judge Violet
Meekma found he posed a risk to the safety of the public and
police officers.
His son, Curtis Dagenais, is
charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the July 7
shooting of RCMP constables Robin Cameron and Marc Bourdages,
who died from head wounds about one week after the shooting near
Mildred, 12 kilometres east of Spiritwood. Curtis Dagenais is
also charged with attempted murder of another constable who was
at the scene of the shooting.
The incident began when the
two officers attended an assault call in Spiritwood on July 7.
When they tried to speak with the suspect, he fled in his pickup
truck, leading the officers on a pursuit for about 15 km. A second
RCMP vehicle joined the chase, which eventually ended in gunfire
south of Mildred. Both Bourdages and Cameron were struck, but
a third officer, who was shot at and returned fire, was not injured.
The suspect then fled into the bush on foot.
Prosecutor Dennis Cann reiterated
the Crown's position that Arthur Dagenais poses a risk to the
public if released. He said witnesses have sworn statements saying
Dagenais was abusive to his wife and children, hated police and
influenced his son to feel the same way.
One witness said Arthur Dagenais
said he couldn't reach Curtis by phone because Curtis, who was
then a fugitive, wouldn't answer the phone if he didn't know
who was calling.
Cann argued Arthur Dagenais
disobeyed the police order to stay away from his farm because
he wanted to get home to phone so Curtis would see his father's
number and answer the call.
The RCMP now intend to conduct
a "shoulder-to-shoulder search" for the murder weapon
on Curtis Dagenais' property, which is about six kilometres from
Arthur Dagenais' property, Cann said. He suggested Arthur Dagenais
may know where the rifle is and speculated as to whether he is
the type of person who would tell police where to find it.
The prosecutor argued that
the administration of justice would fall into disrepute if Arthur
Dagenais was allowed to return to his home near Spiritwood.
Some residents of Spiritwood
have signed a petition demanding that Arthur Dagenais not be
allowed to return to the community, Cann said, adding the RCMP
"have been inundated" with calls of concern that he
will return.
Arthur Dagenais' wife, Elsie,
and his daughter, Grace, have said they will go into hiding if
he is released, Cann said.
Lori Gollan, Arthur Dagenais'
lawyer, argued Thursday her client has already been in jail long
enough to have served any sentence he might receive if he were
to be convicted on the minor charge of obstruction of justice.
She said Arthur Dagenais should
not be denied his freedom based on second- and third-hand rumour
and speculation. Nor should he remain incarcerated for expressing
negative opinions that have not generated criminal charges.
"Art may be an angry man.
. . . In Canada we don't incarcerate people for being angry,"
Gollan said.
Arthur Dagenais admits he received
a phone call from his son as Curtis tried to elude police prior
to the shooting, and that he was on his way to meet him when
the shooting happened.
There was confusion about the
meeting place and Arthur Dagenais took the wrong road, Gollan
said.
There was nothing about Arthur
Dagenais' desire to help his son at the time to justify his continued
incarceration, Gollan argued.
She asked that her client be
released without conditions, but said he agrees to abide by electronic
monitoring, if a bail supervision report makes such a recommendation.
"He needs and wants to
be released," Gollan said outside court. "I have no
doubt in my mind that Mr. Dagenais will be released on Aug. 14,"
she said.
badam@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2006
Rocky
relationship with police
The Canadian Press, Jul
13, 2006)
SPIRITWOOD, SASK - With two
RCMP cruisers in hot pursuit, Curtis Dagenais tearfully called
his dad on his cellphone from his old truck and told him he didn't
think he could outrun them, court heard yesterday.
A short time later, the chase
ended in a gun battle that left two officers with serious gunshot
wounds while 41-year-old Dagenais, clad in a T-shirt and cut-off
shorts, fled into the bush with a long-barrelled weapon.
The information came out yesterday
in court in North Battleford, Sask., where Arthur Dagenais, the
69-year-old father of the fugitive, appeared on a charge of obstructing
justice.
The search for Curtis Dagenais
entered its fifth day yesterday in the bush and pasture land
south of Mildred, just east of Spiritwood.
Crown prosecutor Jim Taylor
told court that Arthur Dagenais defied a police order to stay
away from the restricted search area, which is near his home.
Court also heard that police
found two firearms and $27,000 in cash hidden in a combine on
the elder Dagenais's farm, and that he has a history of hatred
against police.
That has led to an additional
charge laid against Dagenais of possession of an unregistered
.22-calibre rifle.
"This is one small part
of the overall investigation, but you begin to understand the
complexities and the challenges that our officers face both in
the investigation into the shooting and the attempted murder
charge and also the challenges in attempting to locate Mr. Dagenais,"
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Brian Jones said later.
The senior Dagenais sobbed
in court as his lawyer, Lori Gollan, described his and Curtis's
rocky relationship with police.
The Crown is opposing bail,
saying they're concerned Dagenais may try to help his son evade
capture.
Taylor said the $27,000 and
firearms were locked in an old combine in a culvert. Gollan said
Dagenais does not use banks, but uses the combine as his safety
deposit box instead.
Dagenais remains in custody
and the case was put over until Friday.
Meanwhile, police tactical
members, dressed in green camouflage gear, continued to search
the 208-square-kilometre area around the crime scene as a search
helicopter thundered overhead.
Jones said police were working
through more than 100 tips on Dagenais's whereabouts. Dagenais
is a suspect in the shootings of constables Robin Cameron and
Marc Bourdages after a high-speed chase near Spiritwood, 140
kilometres west of Prince Albert.
Cameron, 29, and Bourdages,
26, remained in serious condition in hospital in Saskatoon .
A Canada-wide warrant has been
issued for Dagenais. He has been charged with attempted murder
of the third Mountie involved in the chase.
The drama began Friday night
at the home of Elsie Dagenais, Arthur's ex-wife. They were divorced
after 47 years of marriage.
Curtis's uncle, Herb Jaster,
said Curtis Dagenais had just learned Elsie was to get half the
family farm in a property settlement and had gone to her house
to confront her and his sister. Curtis had been hoping to inherit
it all, said Jaster.
The argument spilled out into
the street, police were called and Dagenais took off in his truck.
Cameron and Bourdages were in the lead car and the third officer
was in the second. The chase lasted for 12 kilometres and ended
at Mildred with gunfire. The third officer returned fire but
wasn't hurt.
Court hears Curtis
Dagenais made frantic cell call prior to Sask RCMP shootings
Dean Bennett, Canadian
Press, Thursday, July 13, 2006
SPIRITWOOD, Sask. (CP) - With
two RCMP cruisers in hot pursuit, Curtis Dagenais tearfully called
his dad on his cellphone from his old truck and told him he didn't
think he could outrun them, court heard Wednesday.
A short time later, the chase
ended in a gun battle that left two officers with serious gunshot
wounds while 41-year-old Dagenais, clad in a T-shirt and cut-off
shorts, fled into the bush with a long-barrelled weapon. The
information came out Wednesday in provincial court in North Battleford,
Sask., where Arthur Dagenais, the 69-year-old father of the fugitive,
appeared on a charge of obstructing justice.
The search for Curtis Dagenais
entered its fifth day Wednesday in the bush and pastureland south
of Mildred, just east of Spiritwood.
Crown prosecutor Jim Taylor
told court that Arthur Dagenais defied a police order to stay
away from the restricted search area, which is near his home.
Court also heard that police
found two firearms and $27,000 in cash hidden in a combine on
the elder Dagenais's farm, and that he has a history of hatred
against police.
That has led to an additional
charge laid against Dagenais of possession of an unregistered
.22-calibre rifle.
"This is one small part
of the overall investigation, but you begin to understand the
complexities and the challenges that our officers face both in
the investigation into the shooting and the attempted murder
charge and also the challenges in attempting to locate Mr. Dagenais,"
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Brian Jones said later in Spiritwood.
The senior Dagenais, dressed
in street clothes, sobbed in court as his lawyer, Lori Gollan,
described his and Curtis's rocky relationship with police.
The Crown is opposing bail,
saying they're concerned Dagenais may try to help his son evade
capture.
Taylor said the $27,000 and
firearms were locked in an old combine in a culvert. Gollan said
Dagenais does not use banks, instead using the combine as his
safety deposit box.
Dagenais remains in custody
and the case was put over until Friday.
He is divorced from his wife,
Elsie. On Wednesday, a spokesman for Elsie's side of the family,
Leigh Sinclair, said they were relieved to hear he was still
in custody and that the judge was taking the Crown's concerns
seriously.
The couple divorced after 47
years of marriage, which Elsie's family says included years of
abusive behaviour.
"It's been over 50 years
that this family has been in danger, or felt in danger. And so
the RCMP of this community has always had Elsie's safety as their
first priority," said Sinclair, a pastor with the Lutheran
and United Church in Spiritwood.
She said Elsie Dagenais feels
as though she's in the middle of a cruel waiting game.
"What she says to me is
that the cruelest is not actually waiting for the search to end,
but the cruelest is waiting for those police officers to recover."
Meanwhile, police tactical
members, dressed in green camouflage gear, continued to search
the 208-square-kilometre area around the crime scene as a search
helicopter thundered overhead.
Jones said police were working
through more than 100 tips on Dagenais's whereabouts.
But he also said that new information
cast doubt on a possible sighting of Dagenais the day after the
shootings.
On Tuesday, police reported
that two witnesses said they saw a man who resembled Dagenais
standing in a ditch beside a highway just southeast of the search
area.
But after the sighting was
made public, investigators talked to two people who know Dagenais
and had also seen the man Saturday, Jones said.
"They felt the person
that they saw was not Curtis Dagenais," he said.
He said the case highlights
the challenge of the manhunt.
"You have different people
seeing the same individual, forming different impressions, different
conclusions."
Dagenais is a suspect in the
shootings of constables Robin Cameron and Marc Bourdages after
a high-speed chase near Spiritwood, 140 kilometres west of Prince
Albert.
Cameron, 29, and Bourdages,
26, remained in serious condition in hospital in Saskatoon and
little information on their care was being released.
A Canada-wide warrant has been
issued for Dagenais. He has been charged with attempted murder
of the third Mountie involved in the chase.
The drama began Friday night
at Elsie Dagenais's home on Main Street in Spiritwood.
Curtis's uncle, Herb Jaster,
said that Curtis Dagenais had just learned Elsie was to get half
the family farm in a divorce property settlement and had gone
to her house to confront her and his sister. Curtis had been
hoping to inherit it all, said Jaster.
The argument spilled out into
the street, police were called and Dagenais took off in his truck.
Cameron and Bourdages were
in the lead car and the third officer was in the second. The
chase lasted for 12 kilometres and ended at Mildred with gunfire.
The third officer, who hasn't been identified, returned fire
but wasn't hurt.
Police have not said where
the wounded officers were hit, but their cruiser had bullet holes
low on the windshield.
© The Canadian Press 2006
|
Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell