injusticebusters 2001 > > Newstories, Misc.

Injured by injustice: Fake claims of sex abuse drive him to fight back, Feb 8, 2001, By Carol Sanders, Winnipeg Free Press

Popowich lawsuit to proceed | The Martensville nightmare | More on Martensville | Witness tampering in the Foster Parent case |

Police discord must be fixed for city's good

The StarPhoenix Editorial Tuesday, June 10, 2003

It's time for decisive action to address protracted hostilities at the city's police service that are costing residents dearly and tarnishing Saskatoon's image across Canada.

The admission by Police Chief Russ Sabo that the action of two veteran officers who abandoned an aboriginal man on the outskirts of the city wasn't an isolated case, as the police service has steadfastly maintained, is the latest salvo fired in a battle for power in the dysfunctional department.

"We had indicated that, as I understand, that we didn't have any other incidents of this nature," Sabo told the CBC.

"It happened more than once and we fully admit that and, in fact, on behalf of the police department I want to apologize. It's quite conceivable there were other times."

Sabo's revelation undermines the credibility of senior officers including past chief Dave Scott and that of all cops who've insisted since constables Dan Hatchen and Ken Munson were charged and convicted that they have no knowledge of any "starlight tours" conducted by Saskatoon officers dishing out street justice.

From an RCMP probe into the mess that failed to investigate an eerily similar drop-off incident that veteran cop Brian Trainor had described in his "true life" Saskatoon Sun column to a coroner's inquest that didn't summon Trainor, superficial investigations have only fuelled public cynicism. Confirmation of police misconduct brings no comfort.

The chief's admission comes in the wake of a vote by 321 of 380 rank-and-file officers, 90 per cent of whom expressed no confidence in Sabo's leadership and 95 per cent of whom have no use for the civilian board of commissioners or its commitment to community policing.

Whether Sabo intended to undercut the union or not, his words hardly mark an auspicious start to healing rifts in the rancorous service, as he and the commission vowed to do when they met last week with union executives and agreed to bring in a consultant to teach them to get along.

Meanwhile, a police association whose chief executive has no trouble publicly questioning the chief's suitability to lead and denigrates community policing as "window dressing" suddenly is shy about explaining just what has his members so irate at the chief and board.

A frustrated Mayor Jim Maddin, elected on a ticket of community policing, accuses the association of being "bitchers and whiners and complainers." If the union wants to be involved in the management of the service, he says, "Step up to the plate and participate with a little less aggression and a little less confrontation."

This is all silly, of course.

Managing the police service and setting policy is the job of the chief and board, with the association responsible for acting in its members' interest through negotiating and enforcing contracts.

Rather than have the board abdicate its responsibility to deliver the kind of policing that citizens choose through their representatives, it's time for a thorough investigation of the service by an independent outsider such as a retired judge.

The animosity that has pervaded police ranks and the inept policing that has been the result over the years in this city need to be rooted out and fixed.

The concern at this stage, however, is that the culture and relationships within the service are so abysmal that it would be better to build the service from scratch rather than try to repair this mess.

After all, given the seeming dissatisfaction among the rank and file -- that some are trying to blame Sabo for their high cholesterol levels suggests that rationality pulled out of the station long ago -- would anything short of firing the entire board of commissioners and the chief, and letting the cops appoint their new minders suffice to bring harmony to the ranks?

There's another option -- however far-fetched it might seem at first glance -- if things boil down to letting the inmates in blue run the asylum: Turning over responsibility for the city's policing to the RCMP.

For instance, it provides contract policing services for B.C. communities such as Burnaby (2001 population 193,644) and Surrey (pop. 344,620) at a cost of $100 and $92 per capita respectively, compared to Saskatoon's 2001 cost of $167.

No one is suggesting that winding down the Saskatoon police force is the best solution at this stage, but the service can't be allowed to continue to garner national headlines over redneck antics and blown investigations, with cops too busy with internecine warfare to do much about crime rates that place this city near the top of the national charts.
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)

Police say high speed chase suspect shot himself

cbc, May 29, 2001

WYNYARD - Police now say a man who died after a high speed chase Friday near Wynyard shot himself.

"It appears the lone male occupant of the vehicle died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound." said RCMP Sgt. Ron Toogood.

RCMP were pursuing a man in a stolen car with several weapons who had left a gas pump in the town of Raymore without paying.

Sgt. Ron Toogood with the RCMP says that during a ninety minute chase police vehicles were shot at several times.

"Approximately one hour into the chase there was an exchange of gunfire. At least one shot was fired by an RCMP member. The suspect vehicle became stuck in a field and from investigation to date it appears the lone male occupant of the vehicle died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

The man's name has not been released.

The Regina major crimes unit is investigating the incident.

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