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Sabo
| Stonechild report | Remember Mayor Maddin? | Remember
the finding of the first body
| A lively discussion of the Quint housing project can be found
on injusticebusters
blog. It began in the archived October 6, 2004. Slum
housing | Brian Dueck | Slum landlord charged | Atchison's law and order policies
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As Don Atchison ends his
second year, maybe he has some clues about what Jim Maddin was
up against? It takes more than waving, nodding and winking to
run a city. Atchison 2005
Atchison is torn between
the old guard police who serve the downtown business interests
and those who push for a clean-up
- Mayor tight-lipped about
complaint against police chief
Julie Saccone, The StarPhoenix,
March 2, 2005
A complaint against Saskatoon
police Chief Russ Sabo has been filed with the province's police
commission, Mayor Don Atchison confirmed Tuesday.
"An individual brought
a complaint forward and it is being dealt with right now,"
Atchison, chair of the city's board of police commissioners,
told reporters outside council chambers.
The complaint emerged earlier
in the day at the police disciplinary hearing of deputy police
chief Dan Wiks, who is charged with wilfully making misleading
comments to a StarPhoenix reporter in May 2003.
Insp. Keith Atkinson told Wiks'
lawyer, Richard Danyliuk, the matter is before the Saskatchewan
Police Commission when asked if Sabo is the subject of a police
complaint. Danyliuk then backed off after Sabo's lawyer, Mitchell
Holash, objected to the relevancy of the question to the proceedings.
The complaint is not a harassment
or criminal complaint, Atchison said.
It was filed in January with
the city's board of police commissioners, which sent it off to
the provincial commission.
In February, the provincial
board sent a letter to the city acknowledging receipt of the
complaint.
Atchison was tight-lipped on
details Tuesday. He said the complaint was filed by a member
of the public, but declined to say whether the complainant was
connected to the Neil Stonechild inquiry or give a firm response
when asked if the individual was a former employee of the police
service.
"The reason being each
individual with complaints are given anonymity at this particular
point in time and if the complainant wishes to come forward to
the press, that is certainly their opportunity," he said.
Under the Police Act, complaints
are forwarded to the provincial body to investigate, Atchison
said, adding it is not up to the city to determine if the complaint
is valid.
"The fact is that everyone
should be given their fair opportunity to give their side of
the story or to be heard out as well," he said. "This
way it is a total independent body outside the political realm
of the city of Saskatoon."
The mayor staved off criticism
for not making the complaint public earlier.
"The fact of the matter
is that the complaints traditionally do not come forward to the
public in any point in time," he said. "The complaints
go to the . . . Saskatchewan board of police commissioners and
they in fact deal with it."
Complaints made public in the
past have dealt with claims brought forward by the complainant,
not the board, he added.
In 2003, Sabo's then-secretary
Gwen Findlater levelled harassment complaints against the chief.
Of the 42 incidents investigated, five were deemed by an independent
investigator to constitute harassment. Sabo took a two-month
paid leave and was allowed to return to the job. The allegations
followed a 2002 complaint by a waitress at the Saskatoon Club
of unwanted attention and remarks. Sabo was cleared of any inappropriate
behaviour in that case.
Atchison said he has not spoken
with the chief but confirmed he will remain on the job. The provincial
police commission will investigate the complaint and inform the
city's board of its findings. Sabo declined to comment, saying
he is still a witness at the hearing where the complaint came
to light.
Holash, Sabo's lawyer, agreed
with a reporter's question that the complaint was produced as
a red herring to deflect focus from the case before the hearing.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Board accepts inquiry
report
Police commission unites after mayor's admission he hadn't read
Wright report
Rod Nickel, StarPhoenix,
November 09, 2004
The Saskatoon board of police
commissioners moved into damage control mode Monday, sorting
out its stance on the Stonechild inquiry report during a hastily
called meeting.
"The Saskatoon board of
police commissioners unequivocally accepts the report, including
the findings and recommendations," Mayor Don Atchison said
in a news release, which was issued as he entered an evening
meeting. He could not be reached for comment to elaborate.
Atchison attracted a flurry
of phone calls from upset residents after declining Thursday
to endorse the report's findings, including that Stonechild was
in police custody on the night he died.
"We had to clarify our
position," said Donna Renneberg, the commission's only aboriginal
member who accepted the report's findings and recommendations
from the time it was released Oct. 26. "There was some good
debate."
Atchison was among those who
supported the board's position, she said.
Renneberg declined further
comment on the report, citing a decision by the commissioners
to wait for police Chief Russell Sabo to announce a decision
on the futures of constables Larry Hartwig and Brad Senger.
Justice David Wright found
the constables had Stonechild in their cruiser hours before he's
believed to have died on a cold winter day in 1990. The 17-year-old's
body was found in a field in the north industrial area. The constables
have been suspended with pay for two weeks.
Sabo's decision is expected
Wednesday.
The police commission's news
release also announced that the board struck a subcommittee on
Nov. 2 to address the report's eight recommendations. The subcommittee
is expected to report its progress back to the commission on
a regular basis. The commissioners' special meeting Monday came
at the mayor's request.
Reached before the police commission
sorted out its stance, Atchison said he's fully versed on the
Stonechild inquiry report after studying it during a working
trip to Toronto last week.
Atchison said Thursday that
he had not thoroughly read the 214-page report because of a full
schedule.
On Monday, Atchison said he
failed to clearly express himself during a lengthy airport interview.
"Perhaps my words that
I used weren't as well-selected as they could have (been),"
he said. "I had scanned through the whole thing (before
making the comments). I hadn't really studied it. In all fairness,
you have to really study it before you can start saying, 'I read
the report.' "
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
Mayor
yet to endorse Wright report
Atchison has not read all of Stonechild report
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix,
November 5, 2004
Mayor Don Atchison stopped
short Thursday of endorsing the Stonechild inquiry report's findings,
one day after Chief Russell Sabo's comments in support of constables
Larry Hartwig and Brad Senger became public.
The mayor says he hasn't thoroughly
read the report because of a full schedule and hasn't yet conferred
with the board of police commissioners, which he chairs, about
the findings.
Justice David Wright's report
on the Stonechild inquiry includes a key finding that Hartwig
and Senger had Stonechild in their cruiser hours before he's
believed to have died.
Asked if he believes the teen
was in the car, Atchison replied: "I wasn't there. That's
what Justice Wright says right now. (The police commission) still
hasn't dealt with the report.
"I'm not trying to duck
out, just tell you the straight goods -- that I haven't read
the whole report yet," Atchison said, before catching a
flight to Toronto, where he's attending meetings today. The commission
will go through the report and decide where it agrees, disagrees
or needs clarification, he said.
Atchison said he has focused
more on recommendations than findings, because the commission's
role is to oversee changes. He maintains, however, that he accepts
the report.
Atchison was more definitive
Oct. 26, the day the inquiry report became public.
"I would like to say that
the board accepts the findings and the recommendations of the
commissioner (Wright)," he told a police station press conference.
He added the board of police
commissioners is determined to ensure the circumstances never
repeat.
Sabo told his members during
a routine briefing Saturday that he doesn't personally believe
the constables caused Stonechild's death, officers say. Earlier
that week, Sabo had told a news conference that he accepts the
report.
"Fact of the matter is,
it is confusing for the public and that's what we're going to
have to clarify," Atchison said. "The board's going
to have to come out with a statement on the issue. You can't
be saying one thing one day and another thing another day."
Atchison said the police commission
plans to ask Sabo about his comments at an upcoming meeting.
He said he believes Sabo is impartial enough to decide the officers'
fate.
Sabo has issued a statement
saying he will make no public comments while deliberating the
officers' fate. A decision is expected next week.
The Stonechild family called
on Sabo Thursday to publicly clarify his comments in a statement
issued by the law firm representing them, Semaganis Worme.
The teen's mother, Stella Bignell,
said Sabo's comments are inconsistent with her private conversation
with him last week.
"He agreed with the commission's
findings," she said in an interview from Cross Lake, Man.
"He didn't say nothing at all that (suggests) he never believed
nothing. He said, 'I go with the commission's findings completely.'
"
She said she wants to give
Sabo the benefit of the doubt until talking with him personally.
Police commissioner Donna Renneberg
said she, too, wants to speak with Sabo about his comments.
Renneberg, the only aboriginal
member of the commission, said unlike Atchison, she doesn't need
further study to accept the inquiry report's findings.
"I guess (Atchison) needs
to do his own research," she said. "For myself, I've
read the report and recommendations totally and I accept fully
the findings and recommendations. I have no doubts about the
findings."
The Stonechild family's law
firm also said it's "disconcerting" to hear of the
organized show of support Wednesday by about 100 police officers
for the constables.
The demonstration inside the
police station "can only be seen as an act of insubordination
which must be addressed if the report is to have any meaning
or effect," the firm's statement reads.
Justice Minister Frank Quennell
couldn't be reached for comment.
"There will be some tension
as this goes forward," said a spokesperson for Quennell.
"Things will be said or not said. Things will happen. He
doesn't want to get involved in commenting on each little development."
The lawyers for Hartwig and
Senger, Aaron Fox and Jay Watson, said Thursday that the chief's
comments wouldn't necessarily be a major factor in any public
hearing that would result if he fires the constables and they
appeal.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
City goes to private-sector
well for spa project
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix,
November 16, 2004
A year of hype, controversy
and planning surrounding River Landing has come down to a test
of private-sector faith in the south downtown project.
The city is set to call for
expressions of interest in building a mineral spa, restaurant
and condominiums on the northeastern quarter of the Gathercole
site -- the first time it's asked for a private-sector financial
commitment in the redevelopment project.
"This is the first step
to make sure that we are on the right page together," said
Mayor Don Atchison. "We believe we will have a healthy response
and will have different groups to choose from."
Interest in developing this
corner of the 30-acre River Landing, which sweeps across south
downtown and southeast Riversdale, is expected to set the tone
for interest in the whole development. Lining up an exciting
spa project would help attract developers for the rest of the
project, Atchison predicts.
City council approved a selection
process Monday that puts much of its confidence in a private
Realtor, Colliers McClocklin Real Estate, to attract interest.
The firm will contact developers it deems qualified to build
such a project and ask for expressions of interest to prequalify
them for a shortlist. An administrative committee will evaluate
those expressions based on financial capacity, experience, the
development concept and references. The developers will then
be asked to submit more comprehensive proposals, focusing on
design of the project and how much they're willing to pay for
the site. The administrative committee will evaluate those proposals
based on criteria including their offers for the city-owned land,
overall quality, consistency with the River Landing plan, design
and quality of materials.
"We're looking for winners,
not people trying something for the first time," said Gwyn
Symmons, the city's lead consultant on River Landing.
City council used an expression
of interest process under former mayor Jim Maddin last year that
drew criticism, but it was broader and didn't restrict proposals
to developers with the finances and experience to carry them
out.
The eventual selection of a
winning proposal will be based on a points system for various
criteria. If there's a clearcut leader, the city would select
it without council giving final approval.
If the leader is ahead by fewer
than 15 points, council would make the final choice of a project,
said Chris Dekker, the city's manager for River Landing.
The expression of interest
process will continue for 10 weeks. If the city issues its request
for proposals by late January, the city could have a winning
project by spring.
Construction would start between
fall 2005 and spring 2006, Dekker said.
Coun. Myles Heidt said that
timeline is disappointing.
"My expectation was to
have something on that site before September," he said.
Colliers will collect 3.5 per
cent of the value of the eventual sale of the site as its fee.
The city has drafted a $5.95
million capital budget for River Landing in 2005, all for land
on the east side of the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge, which is
now being called Phase 1. The biggest expenditures are $2.75
million for roads, sidewalks and streetscaping, with another
$800,000 set aside for work on a landmark at the south end of
the extended Second Avenue South. The budget needs final approval
within the 2005 overall capital budget.
The city is waiting for $15
million promised by the federal government to clean up and service
the west side of River Landing, Dekker said. Ottawa is firming
up final details before approving the grant.
There's already plenty of interest
in developing the site west of the spa and east of the Senator
Sid Buckwold Bridge. Persephone Theatre and Scene III, the latter
which represents Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan and La Troupe
de Jour, have submitted competing proposals to build a new performance
theatre on the site.
La Troupe president Raoul Granger
presented Scene III's proposal for a 200-seat theatre with flexible
configurations to city council Monday. The theatre would cost
$5.5-million to build and need $3 million in government funding.
Donors would generate the $2.5-million balance.
"The facility will help
to showcase Saskatoon as a cosmopolitan city committed to establishing
partnerships to foster dynamic cultural opportunities,"
Granger said.
Persephone has a similar facility
built into its $6.5-million proposal that it hopes to use for
its smaller performances and to rent out to community groups.
Atchison said council will
likely strike a subcommittee to sort out a plan for developing
the cultural site. The city's plan also includes some type of
landmark tower and possibly a Tourism Saskatoon office and river
interpretive centre.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
Latest murder city's
ninth of the year
Darren Bernhardt, The StarPhoenix,
November 29, 2004
Saskatoon is likely facing
its ninth murder of 2004, giving the city unwelcome infamy by
setting a single-year record for at least the last decade.
The body of a 44-year-old man
was found inside a house at 104 Ave. M South in the early hours
of Sunday after a police car was flagged down by an acquaintance
of the victim, according to Staff Sgt. Kelly Cook of the Saskatoon
Police Service's Major Crimes Unit.
While an official determination
of murder hasn't yet been made, it's almost certain, Cook suggested.
"Yes, we suspect foul
play," he said, noting the evidence at the scene made a
strong case for that conclusion.
He wouldn't provide any more
details than that. An autopsy is expected to be performed Monday
and an update on the situation will be released following that,
Cook said Sunday afternoon.
The only information he could
share was about how the police became involved. A person had
gone to a house where the victim was found and "determining
that something was wrong" waved down a passing police cruiser
at about 4:15 a.m.
A call was put into the police
headquarters about a possible injured person and more officers
responded. Upon checking inside the house, they found the victim's
body. Investigators from the major crimes unit took over the
scene shortly thereafter.
"The investigation is
continuing and I can't say anything else at this time,"
said Cook.
On Sunday afternoon, the house
was surrounded by cruisers as officers sat in their vehicles
and kept an eye on the rough-looking bungalow, its yard surrounded
by yellow police tape.
A bedsheet served as a curtain
for one of the two front windows. The other had a section of
filmy plastic filling in for a broken window panel.
One neighbour, who recently
moved to the area, did not know the occupants of the house where
the body was found.
"There was always lots
of people going in and out but it was quiet," he said, reluctant
to provide his name.
The houses immediately neighbouring
the scene of the crime were mostly boarded up or covered in metal
screening with no one answering the doors. In fact, of the homes
in the immediate vicinity, there was nearly as much wood as glass
covering the window openings.
"You never want to have
a high like that," Mayor Don Atchison said Sunday, referring
to the number of murders reaching new heights.
The increase can be partly
attributed to the growth of the city, said Atchison, who chairs
the board of police commissioners.
"Part of it is a reflection
upon society and we have to deal with these things," he
said.
At last count, the city's population
was at 215,000 and that doesn't include many of the temporary
residents brought in by the university and SIAST Kelsey campus,
Atchison said. The dilemma is in dealing with the root causes
of those homicides, many of which have been domestic disputes
while "some of them (2004 murder victims) apparently were
involved with gangs."
Atchison is still trying to
get more officers on evenings and weekend patrol, which is subject
to negotiations with the city police association, while the family
crisis centre has been given more money to address domestic issues.
"But neither of those
groups have all of the solutions. I guess it's just a question
of us working harder in all areas," he said.
- - -
CITY'S MURDERS IN LAST 10 YEARS
1994 - five
1995- three
1996 - two
1997- eight
1998 - seven
1999 - four
2000 - seven
2001 - one
2002 - six
2003 - eight
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
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