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Wrongly accused launches
suit against police
Evidence in Kenora slaying points toward nephew of lead investigator,
claim alleges
By KIRK MAKIN, JUSTICE
REPORTER, Feb 3, 2005
A man whose murder prosecution
caused unrest among the large native population of a Northern
Ontario town has launched a $5-million lawsuit against police
officers who allegedly suppressed evidence that could show his
innocence.
Justin Carambetsos, 29, alleges
in his statement of claim that Kenora Police Service officers
negligently pressed forward with their case in the face of evidence
that clearly pointed toward the lead investigator's nephew.
A judge threw out the murder
charge against Mr. Carambetsos last year, accusing officers of
committing "egregious acts of misconduct" in their
investigation into the slaying of native Max Kakegamic.
In an interview yesterday,
Mr. Carambetsos said he became an overnight pariah after being
charged. He was twice the target of demonstrations through downtown
Kenora by several hundred angry natives.
Mr. Carambetsos said his life
has not returned to normal despite his exoneration. The natives
who make up a large part of the town's population avoid the bar
he and his father bought in 2001 -- the Whistling Monkey -- and
Mr. Carambetsos said he must be careful wherever he goes.
"Just a month and a half
ago, I went to the bathroom at a club," he said. "I
was surrounded by six native guys who started punching and pushing
me."
Mr. Kakegamic's body was found
in an alcove on the city's main street on Oct. 4, 2000. His wallet
was missing and he had apparently been kicked to death.
Shortly before the slaying,
a woman had discovered Mr. Kakegamic passed out on her couch
when she returned home. She had asked Mr. Carambetsos -- a bartender
and friend -- to get him out of her apartment. Mr. Carambetsos
had carried Mr. Kakegamic outside and left him in a heap on the
sidewalk.
The lawsuit notes that Mr.
Carambetsos was arrested within six hours. He was released on
bail pending his trial.
"I had death threats all
the time," he said yesterday. "People chased me and
followed me home. Nobody would have me. There was no job I could
find in this whole town. I lost about three-quarters of my friends."
His defence lawyer, David Gibson,
eventually uncovered and brought to court evidence that a local
man with a record of attacking unconscious people -- Danny Favreau
-- had been seen loitering in the area where Mr. Kakegamic was
left. Mr. Favreau is a nephew of the lead investigator in the
case.
According to the statement
of claim, facts gradually emerged showing that police had "conspired
to tailor their evidence" to make the charge against Mr.
Carambetsos stick.
"It was the usual recipe
for a wrongful conviction," Sean Dewart, Mr. Carambetsos's
civil-suit lawyer, said yesterday. "You have a precipitous
fixation on one suspect, you have police tunnel vision and you
have them actively suppressing any evidence that doesn't fit
with their preconceived view."
Carambetsos files suit
for $5 million
Kenora Police
Service has 20 days to file a defence now that Justin Carambetsos
and his parents, George and Arlene, have filed a $5-million lawsuit
against several parties involved in the investigation of the
October 2000 death of Max Kakegamic, his lawyer Sean Dewart said
Thursday.
By Janet Gibson, Miner and
News, February 03, 2005
Kenora Police Service has 20
days to file a defence now that Justin Carambetsos and his parents,
George and Arlene, have filed a $5-million lawsuit against several
parties involved in the investigation of the October 2000 death
of Max Kakegamic, his lawyer Sean Dewart said Thursday.
The police charged Carambetsos
with second degree murder in Kakegamic's death, a charge that
was amended to manslaughter after a preliminary hearing, then
stayed by a Superior Court justice in February 2004 after the
start of his trial.
The lawsuit names six parties:
Kenora Police Services Board; officers Lloyd White, Chris Rathchford,
Dan Jorgensen and Tom Favreau; and Police Chief George Curtis.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday,
was news to police services board chairman Ron Lunny.
"I wasn't aware of that
development at all," Lunny said on Thursday. "I can't
say I'm not surprised."
Dewart sent a letter to the
police services board last June.
At the time, Carambetsos characterized
the letter as an "opening letter, not a civil suit."
"No claim has been filed
yet," he said.
Dewart said, "The city
refused to meet or enter into discussions. I can't force people
to negotiate with me. That's what courts are for."
The suit seeks $2 million in
general damages and $2 million in special damages for malicious
prosecution, negligence and breaching Carambetsos's Charter rights.
It seeks $500,000 in punitive,
exemplary and aggravated damages, pre-judgment interest and court
costs. As well, it seeks $500,000 in damages under the Family
Law Act for his parents, George and Arlene.
"(Justin) Carambetsos
has suffered significant psychological harm and emotional trauma,
loss of enjoyment of life, anguish, humiliation, pain and suffering
and loss of self-esteem and confidence," the lawsuit says.
"He has been and will continue to be stigmatized as a murderer.
"Carambetsos has lost
income and, especially because of his age and situation when
the charges were laid, his income earning ability for the balance
of his life has been permanently harmed.
"The plaintiffs George
and Arlene Carambetsos have been deprived of the care, guidance
and companionship of their son."
Kakegamic's death was investigated
by White, the lead investigator, Favreau, the case manager, Jorgensen,
the identification officer, and Ratchford, the file manager.
In staying the manslaughter
charge, Justice Peter Hambly cited suppression of evidence by
White, Favreau and Rathchford.
"The suppression by the
police of the Carambetsos statement to (Sgt. Lloyd) White on
Oct. 4, 2000 and of (witness) Heather Gunne's statement to (Sgt.
Tom) Favreau on Oct. 4, 2000 in the police car, in whatever form
it was made, were egregious acts of misconduct," Hambly
wrote in his ruling. "Everything that flowed from this has
made it impossible now for the accused to get a fair trial."
The police service, Dewart
said, is "pretending nothing is wrong."
Curtis asked the OPP to investigate
the officers after reading Hambly's findings.
In a report filed with Curtis
in December, OPP Det. Insp. Bob Deasy didn't recommend laying
criminal charges. However, White and Favreau will face a Police
Services Act hearing later this year for "police misconduct."
"Those proceedings don't
do anything for Justin," Dewart said.
Kenora police holding
officer-conduct report
By Mike McIntyre, Winnipeg
Free Press, December 2nd, 2004
KENORA police are refusing
to release the findings of an independent report into a judge's
bombshell allegations that two of its officers committed criminal
acts while building a tainted murder case against a local resident.
Chief George Curtis announced
yesterday he has recently received the completed document from
the Ontario Provincial Police but won't comment further until
he decides what, if any, actions will be taken against his members.
Ontario Superior Court Justice
Peter Hambly blasted Kenora police earlier this year when he
dismissed a manslaughter charge against Kenora bartender Justin
Carambetsos.
Hambly found officers deliberately
withheld evidence that supported Carambetsos' claim of innocence
and ignored evidence that the lead investigator's nephew could
be the real killer.
The missing evidence -- a statement
made by Carambetsos after his arrest -- was only disclosed in
January by a fellow Kenora police officer who was praised by
Hambly but branded a "mole" by fellow officers who
were angry he had exposed their deceit.
Kenora police, which patrols
the city of 15,000 located 200 kilometres east of Winnipeg, called
in the OPP to launch an independent investigation into their
conduct following Hambly's ruling.
The case involved the October
2002 beating death of aboriginal Kenora resident Max Kakegamic.
Carambetsos spent eight days
in jail before being released on bail and has hired a Toronto
lawyer to pursue a lawsuit. He declined to comment when reached
yesterday by the Free Press.
The two officers at the centre
of the storm -- Sgt. Tom Favreau and Sgt. Lloyd White -- were
pulled off the street and re-assigned to administrative duty
pending the OPP investigation. They also could face criminal
charges.
mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca
- Kenora police framed
murder charge
- Ignored evidence against
detective's nephew, judge says
By KIRK MAKIN, JUSTICE
REPORTER, Globe and Mail, March 22, 2004 - Page A1
A group of police officers
in a Northern Ontario town purposely suppressed evidence capable
of showing they had charged an innocent man in a racially charged
murder, an Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled.
After halting Justin Carambetsos's
murder trial, Mr. Justice Peter Hambly harshly condemned Kenora
Police Service investigators for misleading the Crown and defence
about the existence of a far better suspect -- a nephew of the
lead investigator in the case.
"These officers were a
force unto themselves," Judge Hambly said. "The court
can sometimes tolerate police inexperience, blunders, mistakes
and inefficiency," the judge noted.
"The court will sometimes
make allowances for poor police work done in good faith. What
the court cannot tolerate is police dishonesty."
The judge accused three officers,
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, a local tough
seen near the body of homicide victim Max Kakegamic on Oct. 4,
2000.
Judge Hambly added that it
is "highly likely" that Danny Favreau's alibi was false.
He said the police were derelict
in not investigating Mr. Favreau's involvement and in fabricating
evidence afterward to cover up their true actions.
The explosive ruling, issued
last month but placed under a tight publication ban until this
weekend, has fuelled an already tense situation in the town of
15,000.
Mr. Carambetsos's lawyer, David
Gibbons, said in an interview that his client "has always
maintained his innocence, and we now know that he was charged
as a result of a biased rush to judgment by police officers who
were prepared to suppress exculpatory evidence, testify falsely
under oath . . . and fail to investigate leads that pointed away
from him."
Mr. Gibbons said aboriginal
leaders are doing their best to keep a lid on the situation.
Mr. Carambetsos expects to see "a thorough, independent
review of the culture and practices of the Kenora Police Service,"
he added.
According to a report in the
Kenora Miner, Police Chief George Curtis has reassigned Sgt.
White and Sgt. Favreau to administrative duties pending an OPP
investigation of their conduct.
Still, Judge Hambly noted in
his ruling that the rogue officers not only deprived a racially
divided community of a fair trial, they likely permitted the
real killer to get away.
Shortly before the slaying,
a local woman had returned home and discovered Mr. Kakegamic
passed out on her couch. She asked Mr. Carambetsos, a bartender
and friend, to get him out of her apartment. Mr. Carambetsos,
described by Judge Hambly as a law-abiding citizen with no criminal
record, carried Mr. Kakegamic outside and left him in a heap
on the sidewalk.
Notwithstanding an utter lack
of reasonable or probable grounds for suspicion, Judge Hambly
said, the police arrested Mr. Carambetsos within hours. He said
they also suppressed a spontaneous statement in which Mr. Carambetsos
described Mr. Kakegamic calling him an "asshole" as
he walked away.
(The officers testified that
they viewed the statement as being "off the record.")
Judge Hambly said the police
also withheld repeated statements by an eyewitness that she saw
Danny Favreau, a man with a history of beating up "helpless
men," sidle up to Mr. Kakegamic's prone body and appear
to move him.
Shortly afterward, Mr. Kakegamic
was found kicked to death.
Another Kenora Police officer,
Constable Dan Jorgenson, eventually stumbled upon the suppressed
evidence, braving the anger of his fellow officers by tipping
off the Crown. In a letter to Chief Curtis in 2001, prosecutor
Daniel Mitchell warned that events "raised the spectre"
of a biased investigation aimed at favouring Sgt. Favreau's nephew.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004, Page A2
CORRECTION
Criminal lawyer David Gibson
represented a Kenora, Ont., man -- Justin Carambetsos -- whose
murder charge was stayed by Mr. Justice Peter Hambly of Ontario
Superior Court. Mr. Gibson was misidentified in a story yesterday.
Renewed calls for a public
inquiry . . .
(This material if from Turtle Island Native Network)
(Photos of 2004 memorial )
Updated October 5, 2004
Margaret Kakegamic and her
husband Issac of North Spirit Lake First Nation were supported
by family, friends and community supporters as they marched yesterday
- four years after their son Max was killed on the streets of
Kenora.
The family and the Anishinaabe
Peace and Justice Coalition called for a public inquiry and they
have good reason to raise issues of injustice, because the prime
suspect was freed, after two mistrials and shocking revelations
of police wrongdoing during their probe of the murder.
An investigation by the Kenora
Police Service resulted in a murder charge. After the preliminary
hearing, the murder charge was changed to manslaughter. A trial
was scheduled but in February, 2004 the accused's lawyer asked
the court to stay proceedings against the accused killer. The
judge said he had to grant this request because the police had
been dishonest. So the charge against the accused was stayed
and he is a free man.
Margaret Kakegamic told the
gathering, "I cannot tell you how sad my husband and I feel
about our son's death. We know that someone is responsible for
his killing. But no one is being tried for his murder. We know
there is an investigation of the officers of the Kenora Police
Service. But that will not result in new charges against anyone.
Maybe the officers will be disciplined. But that will not bring
our son back. My husband and I cried many tears when we lost
Max.
And we became angry with the
justice system when the accused was set free. And we were angry
that the police were dishonest. And we are angry with the justice
system. It makes us wonder what sort of justice system we have.
What will be done solve our son's murder? Did our son die in
vain? We would like to see some good come out of this tragedy.
One of the ways this could happen is to have an inquest into
Max's death. Another way would be to press for a Public Inquiry.
Will you help us?"
Shocking report on police
probe of death of Max Kakegamic . . .
"There is clearly tension
between the natives and non-natives in this city, which has been
aggravated by this case. It is important for racial harmony in
this city that this case be tried by an impartial jury, having
placed before it all legally admissible evidence."
( Read the Judge's Report )
"Our concerns are well-documented
and well-substantiated. We believe that a systemic problem requires
a systemic solution. We need more than sensitivity training.
We need a national and sustained strategy that involves key players
in the justice system and all levels of government." .
. . National Chief Fontaine
News and Comment
Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Treaty
3 officials are calling for a public inquiry into the Justin
Carambetsos case.
by Tehaliwaskenhas - Bob Kennedy,
Copyright, Turtle Island
Native Network , March 23, 2004
AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine
called for justice for the victim Max Kakegamic. http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=2522#2522
The Ontario Provincial Police
have launched an investigation into misconduct, involving the
fabrication of evidence and suppression of evidence, by Kenora
Police.
Sgt. Tom Favreau and Sgt. Lloyd
White were fingered by a Superior Court of Justice, in the case
involving Justin Carambetsos, a man accused of manslaughter,
in connection with the October 2000 killing of Max Kakegamic
of North Spirit Lake First Nation.
A mistrial was declared earlier
this year, and recently Superior Court Justice Peter Hambly released
details of his ruling, "The criminal investigation management
in the Kenora Police Service carried out by Favreau and White
was more than deficient. These officers were a force unto themselves.
The courts can sometimes tolerate police inexperience, blunders,
mistakes and inefficiency. The courts will sometimes make allowances
for poor police work done in good faith. What the courts cannot
tolerate is police dishonesty".
Justice Hambly also found the
officers had ignored or suppressed evidence of a second suspect
and misrepresented the case to the Crown when they sought an
arrest warrant.
Amazingly, the second suspect
who was ignored, is a relative of one of the police officers
who is now accused of misconduct.
Justice Hambly concluded, "The
accused cannot get a fair trial because the police did not perform
their function. Their function was to investigate impartially.
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. For me to permit this trial to proceed
would be to support and condone what the police have done. It
would be to abdicate the role of the court. The charge is stayed".
Justin Carambetsos is a free
man, thanks to the efforts of his lawyer David Gibson who pressed
the court to look into new evidence regarding the police probe
of the death of Max Kakegamic.
The case raised red flags in
January of this year, when on the third day of the tria,l it
was discovered that Carambetsos had made a statement to officer
White on October 4, 2000 in the police station. Carambetsos told
White that Max Kakegamic was bleeding in Maria Campenella's apartment
before he touched him. He said that he removed him onto Matheson
Street, where he left him alive and conscious. He did not assault
him. White disclosed this statement to the investigative team
but no one disclosed it to the crown and hence it was not disclosed
to the defence.
|
Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
