|
Dueck
ordered Hathway sting | Dueck
walks away: Will Wiks be next? | Sabo
lied | Hartwig and Senger
| March for justice
| Larry Lockwood: Constable
exemplifies Saskatoon police culture | Mayor Atchison | Police Union Chief Stan Goertzen | Police response
to release of Stonechild report
Dueck complaint against Sabo used to sidetrack
Wiks hearing |
Dueck's complaint was frivolous fear the Chief had discussed
his personal finances with Richard Klassen! Klassen
sets the record straight
Wiks cleared to return to
work
Deputy police chief gets one-day suspension, probation for a
year
Lana Haight, The StarPhoenix; with files from Daniel Jungwirth,
October 8, 2005
Dan Wiks expects to return
to work as Saskatoon's deputy police chief after he serves a
one-day unpaid suspension for giving inaccurate information to
a reporter.
"I'm looking forward to
getting back to work," Wiks said in an interview from his
home.
The 32-year employee with the
Saskatoon Police Service has been on paid administrative leave
for more than 18 months after he was charged with discreditable
conduct under The Police Act by Chief Russ Sabo.
On Thursday, disciplinary hearing
officer Murray Hinds ordered that in addition to the one-day
suspension, Wiks be placed on probation for one year during which
time he will be subject to quarterly performance reviews. A reprimand
will also be placed on his personnel file.
In August, after a disciplinary
hearing that took place from 2004 through to May 2005, Wiks was
found guilty of a minor charge of negligence for knowingly giving
a StarPhoenix reporter an inaccurate statement in May 2003. He
was originally charged with two major counts of discreditable
conduct. However, Hinds cleared Wiks of the more serious charges.
During a May 2003 interview,
Wiks told a reporter that police had no indication of offi cer
involvement in the freezing death of Neil Stonechild, a 17-year-old
whose body was found in the city's north industrial area in 1990.
He also told the reporter that he did not know constables Larry
Hartwig and Bradley Sender were considered suspects by the RCMP.
But while testifying at the
2004 judicial inquiry into Stonechild's death, Wiks admitted
the police service had known since 2000 that the RCMP suspected
Hartwig and Senger.
In his written decision dated
Thursday, Hinds said he took into consideration Wiks' work history
with Saskatoon police.
"During his lengthy service,
deputy chief Wiks had not been the subject of public complaint.
By all accounts he has served the citizens of Saskatoon well,
both professionally as a police offi cer and personally by his
community activities," wrote Hinds.
However, he also noted the
seriousness of Wiks' conduct. As second-in-command with the police
department, he was the acting chief of police at the time of
the interview.
"Such negligent conduct
of the most senior offi cer of the Saskatoon Police Service is
not insignifi cant, inconsequential or a 'minor slip up.' More
is expected of police offi cers," said Hinds in his decision.
Hinds noted Wiks' negligence
put additional strain on the tenuous relationship between the
First Nations community and the police service and he created
a situation where the public's confi dence in the police force
was questioned.
When contacted Friday, Wiks
had not received a copy of Hinds' sentencing report and would
not comment on the disciplinary actions.
He did say he has no immediate
plans to retire from the police force but is eager to report
for work as deputy chief. He says once he's back at work he plans
to sit down informally with First Nations leaders and members
of the news media to sort out some of the issues raised during
the disciplinary hearings.
"I want to have a discussion
to see how I can do things better," he said.
Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief
Glenn Johnstone is looking forward to that kind of meeting, but
he's disappointed with what he sees as a lenient penalty.
"That's like a slap in
the face to our concerns that we brought forward (during the
disciplinary hearing)," said Johnstone, who believes that
Wiks' should have been placed on an unpaid suspension for at
least a month.
Johnstone said he is also opposed
to Wiks being reinstated as the deputy chief when he returns
to work.
"I know it wasn't proven
he purposely did that, but lots of people just don't believe
that.
"That's too big of a thing
that he did, regardless if it was a slip of his tongue,"
said Johnstone.
Saskatoon police will comment
on Hinds' sentencing decision at a news conference scheduled
for Tuesday, says a police news release.
Requests for comment from Sabo
were declined Friday.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Natives have lost faith
in Wiks, tribal council says
Darren Bernhardt, The
StarPhoenix, September 27, 2005
Dan Wiks should not be allowed
to return to duty as the city's deputy police chief if the force
hopes to improve relations with First Nations people, the chief
of the Saskatoon Tribal Council charged Monday.
"I don't think we'd be
very pleased with that at all," said Chief Glenn Johnstone,
speaking to reporters after testifying at Wiks' sentencing hearing.
Wiks was cleared last month
of two major charges of discreditable conduct issued against
him by police Chief Russell Sabo in August 2004.
However, he was found guilty
of a minor charge of negligence for knowingly giving a reporter
an inaccurate statement in May 2003 that misled the public.
As such, there remains a perception
among some aboriginals that police officers are not trustworthy,
said Johnstone. Allowing Wiks to resume his post as second-in-charge
of the force would fracture relations further.
"I think the breach (in
relations) would be too great. He needs to be replaced or not
allowed to hold that position again," said Johnstone, who
paused when asked if Wiks should be fired. "I don't know
if I'd say that."
After reading an apology and
admitting his guilt, Wiks promised "to make every attempt
not to make the same mistake again." He then said he would
like to meet Johnstone and discuss those concerns.
Neither a demotion nor termination
is likely. Discipline for a minor offence under the Police Act
ranges from a complete dismissal of the matter to a reprimand,
imposed training, counselling, probation, a one-day suspension,
a fine of $350, or any combination of these penalties.
A written decision on Wiks'
punishment will be made within the month, said hearing officer
Murray Hinds. In the meantime, Wiks will remain on paid administrative
leave, as he has been for the past 18 months.
A lengthy disciplinary hearing
took place from 2004 through to May 2005. After the guilty finding
last month, Monday was set aside for sentencing arguments.
During a May 2003 interview,
Wiks told then-StarPhoenix reporter James Parker police had no
indication of officer involvement in the freezing death of Neil
Stonechild, a 17-year-old whose body was found in the city's
north industrial area in 1990. He also told Parker he did not
know constables Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger were considered
suspects by RCMP.
But while testifying at the
2004 judicial inquiry into Stonechild's death, Wiks admitted
the police service had known since 2000 that the RCMP suspected
Hartwig and Senger.
The comments to Parker came
at a time police were under suspicion of conducting so-called
starlight tours -- dropping drunken aboriginal men outside the
city to walk back and sober up.
"The consequence (of Wiks')
negligence was that it elevated those suspicions from officer
wrongdoing to a coverup at the highest levels," said police
commission lawyer Mitch Holash, who said the disciplinary options
at Hinds' disposal were inadequate.
"This is as serious as
it can get but there is no sentence from the limited tools that
you have that will adequately reflect that," he told Hinds.
The police service was thrown
into disrepute, its credibility was tainted and relations were
strained between the force and First Nations people, he said.
Holash also read an impact statement provided by the Federation
of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN), which said the "act
of dishonesty" was made worse because of Wiks' position.
At the time, he was acting chief of the police service.
"First Nations people
have long held the belief that the justice system does not care
about our people; an act of violence upon a First Nations is
poorly investigated, quickly closed and viewed as 'just another
dead Indian,' " says the submission by the FSIN Indian justice
commission.
In his decision last month,
Hinds rejected the theory of a "thin blue line" --
a brotherhood of loyalty between officers to protect one another
and cover up wrongdoing. He specifically found Wiks to have no
part in any such activity, noted Wiks' lawyer, Richard Danyliuk.
"That message doesn't
seem to be getting out there," he said.
Danyliuk highlighted Wiks'
32 years of spotless service but admitted his client is not perfect
and "stepped in a cow pie" on this matter.
"He made a mistake. He
was wearing the hat with the golden braid on it (at the time)
so he's got to pay the piper," Danyliuk said, but questioned
how much payment needs to be made.
Wiks and his family have suffered
national shame in the media and he has already been off work
for 18 months. Wiks expects and is deserving of a reprimand as
well as some media relations training, but not much more, Danyliuk
added.
"He's not trying to cover
anything up. He was critical of the Stonechild investigation,
saying it failed Neil. Dan Wiks is the guy you would want to
be leading and inspiring the ranks . . . because of all of his
skills and integrity."
Holash objected to Danyliuk's
"cloak of martyrdom" description, requesting a reprimand,
a much longer and detailed letter of apology, a probation period
and suspension -- as much as can be given and at the highest
extremes.
"He should stand to be
clearly responsible," Holash said. "Negligence is a
departure from the expected standard of professionalism."
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Wiks deserves help with
fees
lawyer
Darren Bernhardt, The
StarPhoenix, Thursday, September 01, 2005
Deputy police chief Dan Wiks
should be reimbursed for legal fees incurred during his disciplinary
hearing since he was found guilty of little more than a "slip-up,"
his lawyer maintains.
"Given that he was cleared
on two major allegations against him and only held to task on
a minor slip-up, fairness would dictate that he should get at
least some coverage for his legal fees," said lawyer Richard
Danyliuk. "I don't think there's any doubt about that."
Wiks is not a member of the
executive officers' association nor is he a member of the Saskatoon
City Police Association, which covers most rank-and-file members
of the force. As a result, his bill will be paid out of his own
pocket unless City of Saskatoon insurance will cover some of
it.
"He falls into a crack,"
said Danyliuk.
Taxpayers are already on the
hook for more than $100,000 as a result of Wiks' disciplinary
hearing earlier this year. And after being found guilty, even
of a minor offence, Wiks will face another hearing this month
to determine his penalty. That process will add to the tab.
"The institutions of democracy
and of justice in our society have a cost," Mitchell Holash,
lawyer for the Saskatoon Police Service, said during a Wednesday
press conference to announce the decision from the disciplinary
hearing. "But it is important that this process be undertaken
for transparency in order to instil confidence in the public
discipline process."
Whether the city can be found
liable for some of Wiks' legal costs is a decision hearing officer
Murray Hinds will have to make during sentencing later this month.
If Danyliuk tries to suggest it, Holash said he is ready to fight
it on behalf of the police service and therefore, the city.
"They should expect some
resistance," Holash said.
The finding against Wiks may
have been deemed as minor under the Police Act, but there is
still no doubt he misled the public, which is his own fault,
said Holash.
"It is still an offence."
Danyliuk wouldn't say what
Wiks' legal fees total, citing solicitor-client privilege.
The costs to this point include
the fees for Holash, Hinds, hiring a court reporter and renting
a facility to hold the hearing.
Wiks was cleared of the two
major charges facing him -- that he wilfully made a false or
inaccurate statement or alternatively, acted in a manner that
was unbecoming or dishonourable to himself as a police officer.
Hinds had the option to consider
a lesser offence under the second charge and that is what he
chose to do, finding Wiks guilty of carelessly giving an inaccurate
statement that misled the public and media.
The decision was released exactly
one year after police Chief Russ Sabo issued the charges against
Wiks. They stem from an incident in May 2003 when then-StarPhoenix
reporter James Parker queried Wiks about police involvement in
the freezing death of Neil Stonechild.
Wiks told Parker he wasn't
aware of any police involvement or that constables Larry Hartwig
and Bradley Senger (later fired by Sabo) were considered suspects
by the RCMP. Wiks later admitted the police service had known
that since 2000. At his disciplinary hearing, Wiks said he didn't
explain himself properly to Parker.
A conference call is scheduled
for today between Holash, Danyliuk and Hinds to set a date for
the sentencing. That hearing will be open to the public.
Discipline for a minor offence
ranges from a complete dismissal of the matter to a reprimand,
training, counselling, a one-day suspension or a fine of $350.
The penalty could also include all of these.
Danyliuk suggested his client
has experienced enough punishment already, being away from his
duties for about a year and a half and enduring public scrutiny.
As such, Danyliuk will likely seek a dismissal.
"Given that he is an officer
of over 30 years' experience, given that he's got a spotless
discipline record, given that he is decorated with the medal
of bravery -- this experience of the last 18 months, I'm not
sure what else you could do to him to make it any worse, quite
frankly," he said.
Wiks remains on administrative
leave with pay until the disciplinary process is completed.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Closing arguments put forth
at Wiks hearing
Betty Ann Adam, The
StarPhoenix, May 21, 2005
Deputy police chief Dan Wiks
misled a reporter asking legitimate questions on behalf of the
public and thus put the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) into disrepute,
the lawyer for the police service said Friday at Wiks' discipline
hearing.
"What he knew of the RCMP
investigation just didn't jive with what he told (former StarPhoenix
reporter James) Parker in the article. . . . Four other police
officers said knowing the same things, they couldn't come to
the same conclusions that deputy chief Wiks was articulating,"
lawyer Mitch Holash said following closing arguments at the discipline
hearing.
Wiks admitted on the stand
that the way he answered Parker's questions could reasonably
lead the general public to conclude that the police were involved
in a cover up, Holash said.
"What that does to the
public confidence, that should be a major offence," Holash
said.
Wiks denies that he intentionally
misled Parker.
Wiks' lawyer, Richard Danyliuk,
said there isn't enough information about the exact questions
Parker asked for hearing officer Murray Hinds to determine that
Wiks intended to mislead.
"There was really no evidence
of any intention to lie or deceive on his part," Danyliuk
said.
"He gave his evidence
in very forthright manner and it's capable of being believed
and should be believed by the hearing officer.
"He acknowledged that
he could have phrased things better, could have chosen words
to be clearer, but I don't think anybody had any alarm bells
ringing off that interview," Danyliuk said.
Wiks was charged with two counts
of discreditable conduct over misleading statements he made in
a StarPhoenix interview in 2003, statements pertaining to two
constables who sought standing at a judicial inquiry into the
1990 freezing death of aboriginal teen Neil Stonechild.
Wiks told Parker the SPS did
not know constables Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger were considered
suspects in the RCMP reinvestigation of Stonechild's death.
"The only reason we would
suspend somebody is if we had some indication that there was
some wrongdoing. We had no indication of that whatsoever. And
we still don't," Wiks said in the interview.
Wiks has never challenged the
accuracy of the quotations.
"The questions were worthy
of candid, intelligent, forthright answers. They were not deserving
of public relations spin, deflection, the blue wall of denial
or obfuscation," Holash said.
He called several of Wiks'
explanations "incongruent and contradictory."
Danyliuk pointed out that Wiks
was in charge of the quick and successful investigation into
Darrell Night's complaint of being abandoned on the city outskirts
by two uniformed officers. That resulted in Dan Hatchen and Ken
Munson being convicted of unlawful confinement, being fired and
sentenced to jail.
Wiks' work on that case showed
he was not closed to the possibility of police misconduct and
thus can't be said to have a "blue wall" mentality,
Danyliuk said.
Hinds reserved his decision.
No date has been set for the decision.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
- Choice of words poor,
Wiks tells hearing
Says answer to SP reporter about RCMP investigation could have
been correct
Janet French, The StarPhoenix,
April 13, 2005
Saskatoon deputy police chief
Dan Wiks says comments he made to a StarPhoenix reporter that
have landed him before a disciplinary hearing could have been
correct.
Wiks is charged with discreditable
conduct after telling former reporter James Parker that two officers
were not considered suspects in the freezing death of 17-year-old
Neil Stonechild. Stonechild's frozen body was found on Nov. 27,
1990. In a 2004 inquiry into Stonechild's death, commissioner
Justice David Wright found constables Bradley Senger and Larry
Hartwig had Stonechild in their cruiser the night he died. Marks
on Stonechild's nose were also likely caused by handcuffs, Wright
found.
When Wiks spoke to Parker on
May 1, 2003, Wiks knew the RCMP considered Senger and Hartwig
suspects in Stonechild's death, RCMP chief Supt. Darrell McFadyen
previously testified.
Wiks has been suspended with
pay since March 2004, when he told the Stonechild inquiry he
misspoke in his statements to Parker.
"The only reason we would
suspend somebody is if we had some indication that there was
some wrongdoing. We had no indication of that whatsoever. And
we still don't," Wiks said in the 2003 interview.
Wiks reiterated Tuesday he
didn't give Parker the right information. He said his choice
of words "wasn't the best" and he didn't explain himself
properly. He also didn't remember what question Parker asked
him to prompt the answer.
He said Saskatchewan Justice's
examination of evidence collected by the RCMP didn't find any
grounds to lay charges, so he didn't consider Hartwig and Senger
suspects. Wiks also told Parker he knew the RCMP had interviewed
several officers, but the department didn't know Senger and Hartwig
were suspects.
Again, Wiks could not recall
the question that prompted his statement. If Parker asked if
Saskatoon police considered Hartwig or Senger suspects when Stonechild's
death was investigated in April 2000, rather than in 2003, Wiks
said his answer was correct.
"(In April 2000), I didn't
know Hartwig and Senger were involved in any way, shape or form,"
he said.
If the question was whether
police considered the men suspects in May 2003, his statement
was inaccurate, he told the hearing officer.
"I knew (then) that the
RCMP were considering these people as suspects," Wiks testified.
"They were jumping through all the right hoops."
Parker could not find his notes
or tapes from that interview. Saskatoon police Insp. Keith Atkinson
took notes during the interview and wrote "re: April 2000"
at the top, indicating he thought Parker's questions pertained
to three years previous.
Wiks testified he should have
told Parker he didn't know whether the police department considered
the two officers suspects. Although he did not consider the men
guilty, he didn't know what police Chief Russ Sabo thought.
Wiks never intended to lie
when he made his comments in 2003, his lawyer Richard Danyliuk
said.
"There was never an intention
to deceive the media, the public, to deceive anyone," he
said. "He indicates he should have been clearer."
If hearing officer Murray Hinds
finds Wiks did not lie, he could be exonerated on one count of
discreditable conduct, Danyliuk said.
"The other count . . .
involves an element of carelessness or negligence, and I think
the hearing officer will assess all of the evidence to determine
what standard (Wiks) should be held to and what degree of accuracy
he should be held to," Danyliuk said in an interview.
Saskatoon Police Service lawyer
Mitch Holash began his cross-examination of Wiks Tuesday. The
hearing will continue next Monday.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
RCMP didn't share details
of investigation, Wiks tells hearing
Janet French, The StarPhoenix,
April 12, 2005
A high-ranking Saskatoon police
officer told his disciplinary hearing today he always questioned
what the officers who were with Neil Stonechild the night he
died had done wrong.
Monday marked the continuation
of deputy police chief Dan Wiks's disciplinary hearing. He is
charged with discreditable conduct for giving misleading statements
to a StarPhoenix reporter in May 2003.
Before an inquiry into the
death of 17-year-old Stonechild, Wiks said in an interview with
former StarPhoenix reporter James Parker that the police had
no indication of wrongdoing in the case and police did not know
constables Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger were suspects in
the case.
Police Chief Russ Sabo fired
Senger and Hartwig after inquiry commissioner Justice David Wright
found they had Stonechild in their cruiser the night he went
missing. Stonechild's frozen body was found Nov. 30, 1990, with
marks on him likely made by handcuffs, Wright found.
Wiks has been on paid administrative
leave since he admitted at the Stonechild inquiry he gave incorrect
information to Parker.
On Monday, his lawyer, Richard
Danyliuk, walked the hearing through the timeline leading up
to Wiks's comments. In February 2000, Wiks became the liaison
between the Saskatoon Police Service and the RCMP during the
RCMP's investigation into the freezing death of Stonechild.
Wiks said Monday that between
February 2000 and May 2002, RCMP Chief Supt. Darrell McFadyen
came to him regularly for information and evidence for the RCMP
investigations. Wiks said it was a "one-way street"
and McFadyen never told him about details they had unearthed.
"I didn't ask them questions.
That wasn't my role," Wiks testified.
His role changed when McFadyen
began sharing some of the details of the Stonechild investigation
with him in the summer of 2002, he said.
When McFadyen gave Wiks verbal
reports, Wiks said the Police Act, which obliges police to investigate
wrongdoing by officers, was always on his mind. Wiks testified
he often made sure other officers were present in these meetings
to ensure he hadn't overlooked important details.
After Sabo was hired, Wiks
said he told him in January 2003 he still had not established
what, if anything, Hartwig and Senger had done wrong.
"I was trying to be vigilant,"
he said. "I was trying to report back the information I
had so they could make a decision over (an internal investigation)."
McFadyen previously testified
Wiks knew Hartwig and Senger were suspects in the RCMP's criminal
investigation.
On Monday morning, Danyliuk
called his only other witness, Staff Sgt. Murray Zoorkan. When
Zoorkan was given the task of examining the transcripts of wire
taps collected by the RCMP, Wiks instructed him to notify him
if any evidence pointed to police wrongdoing. Wiks said the exercise
was not a "witch hunt," Zoorkan said.
"We still don't know that
anyone did anything wrong. We only have a 'blank space' from
the first call to when Stonechild got out of the car," Zoorkan
had written in his notebook after Wiks briefed him on the case.
In cross-examination by Saskatoon
Police Service lawyer Mitch Holash, Zoorkan said it was clear
to him Hartwig and Senger were suspects in the investigation.
"You've got some evidence
of wrongdoing on those police officers?" Holash asked.
"Yes (but) not conclusive,"
Zoorkan answered.
"(Zoorkan) indicated that
as early as November 2000, in a meeting that he sat in with deputy
chief Wiks, it was clear to Staff Sgt. Zoorkan that there was
some evidence of wrongdoing from the investigation and that it
was clear that constables Hartwig and Senger were suspects in
that investigation," Holash said in an interview. "Those
are the very points that deputy chief Wiks denied in May 2003,
nearly three years later."
Wiks, a 52-year-old police
officer with 34 years of experience, has won police awards for
exemplary service, the Queen's Jubilee Medal for community service
and the Governor General's Medal of Bravery. Danyliuk said Wiks's
long-standing reputation as a respected officer rides on the
outcome of the hearing.
Wiks's testimony continues
this morning.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
- RCMP reviewed details
with Wiks
Deputy police chief knew about Senger, Hartwig link in 2000,
RCMP officer says
Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix,
March 04, 2005
The head of the RCMP investigation
into Neil Stonechild's death told deputy city police chief Dan
Wiks about the evidence linking two city constables to Stonechild
the night he was last seen alive three years before Wiks told
a newspaper reporter the department didn't know the two officers
were suspects in the case.
Wiks has been charged with
two counts of discreditable conduct over misleading statements
he made in The StarPhoenix interview. The statements pertained
to former constables Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger seeking
standing at a judicial inquiry into the 1990 freezing death of
the aboriginal teenager.
RCMP chief Supt. Darrell McFadyen
told Wiks' discipline hearing Thursday that he reviewed the investigation
findings that left Hartwig and Senger as the only suspects in
the case with Wiks and other high-ranking Saskatoon police officers.
McFadyen went through his notebook,
identifying no fewer than 25 contacts with Wiks between May 29,
2000, and May 1, 2003, in which the investigation was a topic
of discussion.
Stonechild's friend, Jason
Roy, was asserting he had seen Stonechild in the back of a police
car, handcuffed, with blood on his face, screaming, "They're
gonna kill me."
Parts of Roy's story were corroborated
by other evidence. Police computer records revealed that Hartwig
and Senger had been dispatched to a complaint involving Stonechild
that night and had made several computer queries related to that.
The RCMP also told Saskatoon
police that autopsy photographs showed marks on Stonechild's
face and hands that could have been made by handcuffs.
The investigators had tapped
the constables' home phones, Senger had tested "deceptive"
on a polygraph and Hartwig had refused repeated requests to take
one.
Even a junior investigator
would have understood that Hartwig and Senger were suspects,
McFadyen said when asked by lawyer Mitchell Holash, who represents
police Chief Russ Sabo.
On May 1, 2003, Wiks told former
StarPhoenix reporter James Parker: "The only reason we would
suspend somebody is if we had some indication that there was
some wrongdoing. We had no indication of that whatsoever. And
we still don't."
Wiks also said in the interview
the department did not know Hartwig and Senger were considered
suspects.
Sabo charged Wiks in September
2004 with offences under two sections of the Municipal Police
Discipline Regulations.
Wiks has been on paid administrative
leave since March 2004, after he acknowledged while testifying
at the Stonechild inquiry that he gave incorrect information
in the Parker interview.
The Police Act provides a broad
range of penalties ranging from remedial action, such as education
or counselling, to dismissal from the force.
Earlier this week, Sabo told
hearing officer Murray Hinds that Senger had taken a second polygraph
test shortly before the Stonechild inquiry began in September
2003, but Sabo did not say what the result of the second polygraph
was.
Inquiry commissioner Justice
David Wright found Stonechild had been in police custody the
night he was last seen alive and that his body was found five
days later in an industrial area bearing marks that were probably
caused by handcuffs. Hartwig and Senger were fired and are appealing.
Hearings for their appeal will be held in May.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
- Deputy chief knew constables
were suspects:
RCMP investigator
- Disciplinary hearing
told Wiks kept fully abreast of outside investigation
Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix,
March 3, 2005
The RCMP had told deputy city
police chief Dan Wiks that two Saskatoon police constables were
suspects in an RCMP investigation into the death of Neil Stonechild,
the head of the investigation told Wiks' disciplinary hearing
Wednesday.
Wiks is charged with discreditable
conduct for making misleading statements when he told a StarPhoenix
reporter in May 2003 that the Saskatoon police department had
no indication of any wrongdoing, and that the department did
not know Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger were considered suspects
in the case.
Chief Supt. Darrell McFadyen
confirmed that the RCMP were conducting a criminal investigation,
not an internal investigation.
The distinction was raised
in light of testimony earlier this week, when Saskatoon police
Insp. Keith Atkinson responded to a question from Wiks' lawyer,
Richard Danyliuk. Atkinson said the term "suspect"
is used in general criminal investigations, while the term "subject"
is used in internal police investigations.
McFadyen said he also told
Wiks the RCMP had a witness, Jason Roy, who said he saw Stonechild
in the back seat of a police car the night he went missing. Roy
said Stonechild was handcuffed, bloodied, and screamed, "They're
gonna kill me."
Wiks had also been told Senger
had failed a polygraph and Hartwig had refused to take it. Wiks
also knew the RCMP had tapped the phones of both constables,
McFadyen said.
McFadyen was in charge of a
massive RCMP task force looking into an allegation by a Cree
man, Darrell Night, that Saskatoon police had abandoned him on
the outskirts of the city in freezing weather. The task force,
known as Project Ferric, also looked into the deaths of five
other aboriginal men and allegations of police involvement in
those cases.
Wiks was the Saskatoon police
liaison to Project Ferric, McFadyen said. Wiks was a top-level
contact and as such, was given information about the RCMP investigation
that other Saskatoon police did not know, McFadyen said.
The Darrell Night investigation
resulted in criminal charges against two Saskatoon constables,
Dan Hatchen and Ken Munson, who were later convicted of unlawful
confinement and were fired from the department.
Coroner's inquests were held
into the circumstances of the deaths of Rodney Naistus, Lawrence
Wegner, Darcy Ironchild and Lloyd Dustyhorn. None of those resulted
in criminal charges.
The fifth death, that of Neil
Stonechild, resulted in a six-month judicial inquiry, where Wiks
acknowledged he had given inaccurate information to former StarPhoenix
reporter James Parker.
Wiks has been on administrative
leave since about a week after his testimony at the inquiry.
Stonechild inquiry commissioner
Justice David Wright found that Hartwig and Senger had Stonechild
in their custody the night he went missing and that his frozen
body was found five days later, on Nov. 29, 1990, bearing marks
that were probably made by handcuffs. Hartwig and Senger were
fired and are appealing.
Earlier in the day, Danyliuk
questioned city police Chief Russ Sabo on the completeness of
a "can-say" statement he provided prior to the disciplinary
hearings. A "can-say" is a form of statement police
routinely provide to criminal defence lawyers.
It contains a comprehensive
summary of evidence police will testify about while under oath
at a hearing.
Sabo acknowledged that the
can-say did not include a point that came out Tuesday. Sabo said
during a September 2003 meeting involving him, Wiks and Stonechild
commission counsel Joel Hesje, Hesje had raised the point that
Wiks' May 2003 statements to Parker conflicted with information
the commission had. Hesje said he would question Wiks on the
matter when Wiks testified at the inquiry, Sabo said.
Danyliuk said the can-say was
incomplete without that information. Sabo agreed.
Danyliuk said it was not his
intention to drag Sabo through the muck but to discuss the standard
of honesty to which Wiks was being held to account.
Sabo's lawyer, Mitchell Holash,
objected to Danyliuk's line of questioning, saying Danyliuk was
drawing attention to Sabo's conduct as a "diversion."
"This is a duck calling
from the tall weeds," Holash said.
Holash said Danyliuk's questions
are relevant to Wiks' "accountability, remorsefulness and
state of mind."
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
Interview at heart
of charges
Hearings begin for officer charged with discreditable conduct
Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix,
March 01, 2005
When police investigate possible
wrongdoing by one of their own, they refer to the individual
as a "subject" rather than a "suspect" as
they would in the investigation of a non-police officer, the
disciplinary hearing of deputy chief Dan Wiks heard Monday.
That difference in terminology
may become important to Wiks' defence as the hearings continue
through the rest of this week.
Wiks was charged with two counts
of discreditable conduct over misleading statements he made in
a StarPhoenix interview in 2003, pertaining to two officers who
sought standing at a judicial inquiry into the 1990 freezing
death of aboriginal teen Neil Stonechild.
Wiks told former StarPhoenix
reporter James Parker the Saskatoon Police Service did not know
constables Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger were considered suspects
in the RCMP reinvestigation of Stonechild's death.
When asked why Hartwig and
Senger had not been suspended while RCMP investigated their possible
involvement in the death, Wiks replied, "The only reason
we would suspend somebody is if we had some indication that there
was some wrongdoing. We had no indication of that whatsoever.
And we still don't."
Wiks has never challenged the
accuracy of the quotations.
The reported statements were
supported Monday by Insp. Keith Atkinson, who was in Wiks' office
listening to The StarPhoenix interview on a speaker phone and
making notes.
At the time, Atkinson did not
know how much information Wiks had about the Stonechild matter.
Wiks was the city police liaison with the RCMP on the Stonechild
investigation but Atkinson knew only that Wiks was aware that
RCMP had expert testimony that linked two parallel scratches
on Stonechild's nose to police handcuffs.
Members of the force were not
generally aware of what was going on with the RCMP investigation,
but Atkinson said he had heard a CBC radio report in September
2001 that Saskatchewan Justice would charge two members of the
police service in connection with the death. The CBC did not
provide names of those who would be charged. Saskatchewan Justice
did not lay charges.
Despite his comments to Parker,
Wiks told the inquiry in 2004 that the police service did have
"significant evidence" since June 2000 that RCMP had
found there was a possibility that Hartwig and Senger had Stonechild
in their car the night he went missing.
Statements made at judicial
inquiries cannot be used by themselves as evidence at criminal
or civil proceedings.
On Monday, Parker, who now
works as a communications officer with the Department of Indian
and Northern Affairs Canada in Regina, said he sought an interview
with police when Hartwig's and Senger's affidavits seeking standing
and funding at the Stonechild inquiry became public.
Both constables swore in the
affidavits they had been suspects in the 2000 RCMP investigation
into Stonechild's death.
Parker wanted to know why Hartwig
and Senger were still on duty if they had been suspects in the
investigation.
Atkinson's notes begin with
"re: April 2000," which he thought meant Parker's questions
were specific to that period three years earlier.
Wiks' lawyer, Richard Danyliuk,
argued against Chief Russ Sabo's lawyer, Mitch Holash, being
able to ask questions about the "issues team." This
team of senior officers was created by the police service to
address matters arising from the Stonechild inquiry.
Hearing officer Murray Hinds
ruled the evidence would be admissible.
Sabo charged Wiks in September
2004 with offences under two sections of the Municipal Police
Discipline Regulations.
Wiks has been on paid administrative
leave since March 2003, after he acknowledged while testifying
at the inquiry that he gave incorrect information to Parker in
the May 2003 interview.
The Police Act provides a broad
range of penalties ranging from remedial action, such as education
or counselling, to dismissal from the force.
Wiks acknowledged at the inquiry
that he was aware the RCMP were looking into an allegation by
Stonechild's friend, Jason Roy, that he had seen Stonechild the
night he went missing in the back of a police cruiser, handcuffed
and bleeding and screaming, "they're gonna kill me."
Inquiry commissioner Justice
David Wright found Stonechild had been in police custody the
night he was last seen alive and that his body was found five
days later in an industrial area bearing marks that were probably
caused by handcuffs. Hartwig and Senger were fired and are appealing.
Hearings for their appeal will be heard in April.
Wright also found that former
Saskatoon police investigator Keith Jarvis closed the file prematurely
because he was aware of police involvement or suspected police
involvement.
Wiks was the highest ranking
current member of the force to testify at the inquiry.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
- Senger failed polygraph
twice
Sabo: Hartwig refused to take test administered by RCMP officer
Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix,
March 02, 2005
Bradley Senger, one of two
former Saskatoon constables fired in the wake of the Neil Stonechild
inquiry, failed two police-administered polygraph tests, police
Chief Russ Sabo said Tuesday.
And Larry Hartwig, his partner
the night the aboriginal teenager went missing, refused to undergo
the lie detector tests, Sabo added.
Sabo was testifying at the
disciplinary hearing of deputy police chief Dan Wiks, who is
charged with discreditable conduct for giving misleading statements
to a StarPhoenix reporter.
Wiks said in a May 1, 2003,
interview that "the only reason we would suspend somebody
is if we had some indication that there was some wrongdoing.
We had no indication of that whatsoever. And we still don't."
Wiks also said in the article
the department did not know Hartwig and Senger were considered
suspects.
Sabo said Tuesday that Wiks
told him in December 2001, shortly after Sabo joined the department
as chief, that the pair were suspects in the RCMP investigation
of Stonechild's 1990 freezing death and subsequent Saskatoon
police investigation.
Sabo testified Wiks also said
Senger had tested "deceptive" on a polygraph administered
by an RCMP officer, and Hartwig refused to take it.
Senger took a second polygraph
closer to the start of the Stonechild hearings in September 2003
and failed that one, too, Sabo testified, adding Hartwig refused
the polygraph then, as well.
The polygraph evidence was
not allowed as evidence at the Stonechild inquiry.
Sabo said he also heard that
the polygraph expert for the Saskatoon police, Const. Stan Goertzen,
thought the polygraph had not been administered properly. Goertzen
is president of the Saskatoon police union.
Inquiry commissioner Justice
David Wright found that Hartwig and Senger had Stonechild in
their custody the night he went missing, and that he was found
frozen to death five days later, on Nov. 30, 1990, with marks
on his body that were probably made by handcuffs.
Hartwig and Senger were fired
and are appealing that decision. Those hearings will be held
in April.
Sabo told hearing officer Murray
Hinds on Tuesday that he had the provincial police complaints
commission look into Wiks' misleading statements to the newspaper.
The resulting report classified
the complaint against Wiks as a public complaint and found it
was substantiated.
The report listed two options
for Sabo -- remedial action ranging from a verbal reprimand and
increasing in severity up to and including firing Wiks, or laying
charges under the Police Act, which would include a full public
hearing.
Sabo rejected handling the
matter confidentially and opted for the full public hearing because
the matter was of such grave public concern, he said.
Wiks was not the only member
of the police leadership revealed to have given misinformation
to the media during the Stonechild inquiry, Sabo said.
Dave Scott, who later became
chief of police, told The StarPhoenix in 1991 that "a tremendous
amount of work" went into the investigation and police had
"pursued every avenue."
Scott admitted at the inquiry
the 1990 investigation was incomplete.
Amnesty International had "put
a watch on the city" and the inquiry was hearing about missing
police notebooks as well, Sabo said.
"The public was left with
the impression we were a service with a propensity to say things
that were inaccurate, were untrue," Sabo said.
Sabo also felt compelled to
have the matter aired publicly because the complaints commission
report had suggested Sabo was biased in favour of the police.
The report writer was found
to have erred on that count. The report had mistakenly attributed
to Sabo a statement made by Goertzen, in which Goertzen said
he would be surprised if Wiks deliberately tried to mislead the
media.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2005
- Charges against Wiks
to proceed
Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix,
November 17, 2004
The hearing officer at a police
disciplinary hearing has rejected attempts by deputy chief Dan
Wiks' lawyer to have two charges against him thrown out.
Murray Hinds will begin calling
evidence on Feb. 28 into two charges of discreditable conduct
arising from statements Wiks made in a StarPhoenix interview
about two constables who were suspects in the RCMP investigation
into the 1990 freezing death of Neil Stonechild.
Wiks told a reporter in May
2003 the Saskatoon Police Service did not know former constables
Larry Hartwig and Brad Senger were suspects in the investigation.
Wiks, a 30-year veteran of
the force, also said police had no indication of any police wrongdoing.
He acknowledged while testifying
at the Stonechild inquiry that he knew the statements were not
accurate.
Stonechild inquiry commissioner
Justice David Wright found last month that Hartwig and Senger
had the Saulteaux youth in their police cruiser the night he
was last seen alive. Stonechild's frozen body was found five
days later in Saskatoon's north industrial area bearing marks
that were likely caused by handcuffs, Wright found. Hartwig and
Senger were fired on Friday.
Richard Danyliuk, Wiks' lawyer,
argued Tuesday that the section of the disciplinary regulations
upon which one of the complaints against Wiks is based did not
apply to oral statements given to the media because the comments
did not become part of an official document.
Danyliuk also suggested Wiks
was not acting in an official capacity when he gave an interview
to former StarPhoenix reporter James Parker while Wiks was acting
chief of police.
Hinds disagreed with Danyliuk's
reading of the regulations and ruled that the charge would proceed.
Prince Albert lawyer Mitchell
Holash, who represents police chief Russell Sabo, was pleased
with the ruling.
"We believe that police
officers, when they are asked questions as police officers, have
a duty under Section 36 of the discipline regulations to answer
truthfully to the media and to the general public," Holash
said.
Danyliuk also withdrew a previous
argument that Sabo had waited too long before laying the disciplinary
charges against Wiks.
Holash criticized Danyliuk
for making a "stump speech" for the sake of the news
media when he complained that Sabo had not provided a statement
in the disclosure documents provided to Wiks.
Holash pointed out that Danyliuk
had recently agreed to accept "can-say" statements
from Sabo and former Saskatoon police chief Jim Mathews. A can-say
is a form of statement police routinely provide to criminal defence
lawyers. It contains a comprehensive summary of evidence police
will testify about while under oath at a hearing.
Hinds ruled the can-say statements
would be sufficient and ordered that they be provided to Danyliuk
by Dec. 20.
Six witnesses will be called
to testify during a week of hearings beginning Feb. 28. Parker,
police complaints investigator John Clark, RCMP chief Supt. Darrel
McFadyen, Saskatoon police Insp. Keith Atkinson, Mathews and
Sabo make up the witness list.
Also on Tuesday, Wiks formally
denied the two charges of discreditable conduct.
An "adverse finding"
against Wiks could result in the full range of penalty options,
including dismissal, Holash said.
Wiks has been on paid administrative
leave since March.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
Drop charges: Wiks' lawyer
Police chief waited too long to lay charges, lawyer argues
Betty Ann Adam, The
StarPhoenix, October 06, 2004
The lawyer for deputy police
chief Dan Wiks wants disciplinary charges against Wiks thrown
out, saying police Chief Russell Sabo waited too long to lay
the charges.
Wiks was charged in September
with two counts of discreditable conduct under the Municipal
Police Discipline Regulations. Under the regulations, charges
must be laid within six months of an allegation of wrongdoing.
The charges arose from Wiks'
admission while he testified at the Neil Stonechild inquiry that
he knowingly gave incorrect information on the matter to a StarPhoenix
reporter in May 2003, before the inquiry began.
Wiks, a 30-year veteran of
the Saskatoon Police Service, has been on paid administrative
leave since March.
Lawyer Richard Danyliuk argued
at the first day of Wiks' disciplinary hearing that Sabo should
have had six months from May 2003 to lay the charges because
that is when the alleged breach of the regulations should have
been discovered.
Instead, Sabo began considering
laying the charges after Wiks testified at the inquiry in March
2004.
Wiks testified that he knew
two Saskatoon police constables were suspects in the RCMP's 2000
investigation of Stonechild's 1990 freezing death.
Wiks told the inquiry he "misspoke"
when he told former StarPhoenix reporter James Parker in May
2003 that the police service did not know constables Brad Senger
and Larry Hartwig were suspects in the RCMP investigation.
Wiks also told Parker the constables
were not suspended from duty during the investigation because
police had no indication of any wrongdoing.
No charges were ever laid against
Hartwig or Senger.
On Tuesday, Danyliuk referred
hearing officer Murray Hinds to a StarPhoenix news article from
March 2004, by reporter Rod Nickel, in which Sabo acknowledged
he knew that Hartwig and Senger were suspects long before the
May 2003 newspaper article appeared.
Sabo said he didn't catch Wiks'
comments in the May 2003 StarPhoenix article because he was then
on his own leave and wasn't reading the newspaper.
"First time I saw (the
article) was during the inquiry," Sabo was quoted as saying.
"I was trying to avoid all of the media during that time."
Danyliuk said Sabo "dropped
the ball."
"He essentially was wilfully
blind by not reading the paper," Danyliuk said.
Danyliuk suggested Nickel and
Sabo be subpoenaed to testify at the disciplinary hearing if
a copy of the newspaper article isn't solid enough evidence.
Prince Albert lawyer Mitchell
Holash, who represents Saskatoon police, said his clients want
testimony into the Wiks interview aired in a public forum.
Rather than have a ruling now
on whether the six-month time frame for laying charges prevents
a full hearing of the facts, Hinds could choose to hear the evidence
supporting the charges before ruling on the timing issue, Holash
said.
Danyliuk said Wiks is anxious
to have the matter dealt with on its merits, but it is important
the law on the timing of the laying of charges be adhered to.
Danyliuk also took exception
to the way the charges were worded, saying they do not meet legal
requirements.
The matter was adjourned to
Nov. 16, when Hinds will hear arguments on whether the charges
should proceed.
Sabo declined to comment Tuesday,
saying it would not be appropriate because he may be called as
a witness, police spokesperson Insp. Jeff Bent said.
The original witness list had
six names, indicating more than one day of hearings would be
needed to hear the evidence, Danyliuk said.
Penalties for a guilty finding
range from remedial action, such as education or counseling,
up to dismissal from the force.
Meanwhile, Justice David Wright's
report on the Stonechild inquiry is now in the hands of Justice
Minister Frank Quennell. It is expected to be released to the
public later this month.
Near the end of the inquiry,
Wright issued a "notice of potential adverse findings"
to Wiks, who was then granted standing and funding to have a
lawyer speak on his behalf at closing arguments.
Wiks was the highest ranking
current member of the force to testify at the inquiry, which
looked into the 1990 death of the 17-year-old Stonechild.
Stonechild's frozen body was
found in a field in the north industrial area on Nov. 29, 1990,
five days after he went missing.
His friend, Jason Roy, has
said he saw Stonechild in police custody the night he went missing.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
Senior police officer faces hearing
over Stonechild
CBC Sep 1, 2004
SASKATOON - Saskatoon Deputy
Police Chief Dan Wiks is facing two charges of disreputable conduct
under the Police Act.
The charges stem from the inquiry
into the death of Neil Stonechild. His frozen body was found
on the outskirts of Saskatoon in 1990.
The inquiry is to determine
how Stonechild died, and whether Saskatoon Police had any involvement
in his death.
Wiks testifed at the inquiry
in March and admitted he "misspoke" to reporters about
the investigation into Stonechild's death. That admission put
Wiks under investigation.
Saskatoon Police Chief Russell
Sabo announced the charges against Wiks on Wednesday. Sabo says
an open public hearing will be held, and Saskatchewan Justice
will appoint a hearing officer.
The final report of the inquiry
is expected in late September or early October.
Copyright © 2004 Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved
Sabo pledge to openness right move
The StarPhoenix editorial,
Saturday, September 04, 2004
The job may be akin to trying
to turn around an ocean liner in the face of Hurricane Frances,
but Saskatoon Police Chief Russ Sabo is doing the right thing
to improve his department's image by opening up the disciplinary
process for his deputy charged with discreditable conduct.
Deputy chief Dan Wiks has been
on administrative leave since he admitted at the Neil Stonechild
inquiry in March that he misled the public in May 2003 by making
false statements to then StarPhoenix reporter James Parker concerning
two city police officers implicated in the Native youth's death.
On Wednesday, Sabo announced
that, based on the findings of an independent investigator, he
has decided to charge Wiks with two offences under provisions
of the Police Act pertaining to discipline rather than opt to
proceed by way of remedial action.
"I have concluded that
to balance most appropriately the fundamental needs of fairness
to deputy Wiks as well as ensure public confidence in the service,
this matter should go to a discipline hearing conducted by a
hearing officer that will be open to the public, independent
and unbiased," Sabo said.
Given the police service's
history of strained relations between chiefs and rank-and-file
members that extend back decades -- the tenure of Sabo's predecessor,
Dave Scott, was a rare interlude of relative peace -- inevitable
accusations will arise that Sabo is playing politics by making
Wiks the sacrificial goat to appease the media, and a Native
community upset over a cavalier police attitude to investigating
Stonechild's death.
When Sabo placed Wiks on administrative
leave over his admission to commissioner Justice David Wright
to signal that he was treating accusations of police misconduct
as a serious matter, police association president Stan Goertzen's
response was disheartening.
"Did he (Wiks) deliberately
try to mislead (media)? I'd be real surprised. Should he have
been clearer? Possibly."
Condensed in that statement
was the attitude that permeates this police department, and it's
one that will take a long time for anyone to turn around.
Even though the senior officer
had admitted under oath and under pressure from Justice Wright
that he had made false statements to a reporter and was admonished
by the commissioner that the police have an obligation properly
to inform the public by being forthright with the media, Goertzen
simply didn't get it.
The best he could muster up
was that Wiks "possibly" should have been clearer,
even though testimony at the inquiry showed that senior police
actually had formed a strategy committee whose minutes indicated
one of the goals was to mislead the public by lying to the media
about the service status of the two cops under RCMP investigation.
Also clear from the Stonechild
inquiry was that former police chief Scott, who was media relations
officer at the time of Stonechild's 1990 death, also had stretched
the truth beyond any recognizable point when he told former StarPhoenix
reporter Terry Craig that police had done a thorough investigation
and pursued every avenue into the youth's death.
Many of the senior officers
involved with the strategy group are still within the service
that Sabo wants to turn into a more open and accountable institution.
Of course he's likely to face resistance from all ranks because
what he's proposing is a fundamental shift in the culture of
the downtown blue fortress.
While it's easy to argue that
people in all walks of life, from used car salespeople to politicians,
varnish the truth now and then and may even mislead people on
occasion, it's an entirely different matter when it comes to
having the people we entrust as our guardians and empower even
to take lives when they deem it unavoidable, adopt the attitude
they are accountable to no one but themselves.
In Sabo opening up the Wiks
hearing to the public, we may well find out that the deputy chief
wasn't alone in uttering some nose-stretchers when dealing with
the media and even that it's routine for police officers to manipulate
the public with misleading statements about themselves and their
investigations.
Yet, for the Saskatoon police
service to regain its credibility after what's been a difficult
few years, it's imperative that it shed its image as a secretive
enclave and demonstrate its willingness to be accountable to
the citizens it's meant to serve. Good on Sabo for making the
effort to turn around his rickety barge in troubled waters.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
Somewhat
short of the truth
Randy Burton, The
StarPhoenix, Saturday, September 04, 2004
Let me just say at the outset
that if I had a dollar for every time a public official has told
me something less than the truth, I would be living on Maui right
now.
The Oxford Canadian dictionary
defines a lie as "an intentionally false statement."
Wiks description of his statements is that he "misspoke."
However it's defined, it's safe to say Wiks's remarks did not
responsibly reflect objective reality.
For this, he will be forced
to appear before a discipline hearing where he could well wind
up facing sanctions ranging from a reprimand to dismissal from
the force. If so, it will be an ignominious end to a 30-year
career. However, he should have known the risks were high, given
that an inquiry was in the offing.
When the StarPhoenix called
him in May of 2003, the paper wanted to know why two police officers
under investigation by the RCMP in connection to Neil Stonechild's
death had not been suspended. Wiks replied the police would not
suspend anyone without some indication of wrongdoing, which they
didn't have.
He later admitted under oath
before the Stonechild inquiry that the Saskatoon Police Service
was aware that Bradley Senger and Larry Hartwig were both RCMP
suspects in the case. What's more, the police had devised a deliberate
strategy in which officers discussed the possibility of being
able to respect the inquiry process but not the media.
The police somehow managed
to forget that in most instances, the media is representing the
public in matters of critical interest to a broad audience.
Sabo is absolutely right when
he says the public deserves more accountability from the police
service than this. Society grants the police special powers of
apprehension, arrest and even deadly force. Such powers demand
a commensurate level of responsibility.
At the same time, Sabo could
have simply disciplined Wiks without the show trial and moved
on.
There's a theory alive within
the police force that Sabo has taken this action to further separate
himself in the public mind from the so-called "old guard"
within the police service.
Hanging Wiks out to dry in
public sends two messages that are very useful to Sabo. The main
one is to reassure the public and the Native community that Sabo
takes both their interests and his role very seriously.
The second, internal message
is to the police service that there is a new sheriff in town
who is not at all shy about leaving a few bodies in his wake.
Sabo says he has opted for
charges rather than "remedial action" because he wants
to ensure public confidence in the force is maintained. If so,
then he ought to see to it that this amounts to more than a public
flogging of his deputy chief.
There are some questions that
it would be nice to hear the answers to, including:
- If Wiks did deliberately
lie to the media, why did he do it?
- Did Wiks act alone in his
communications with the press or was he following orders?
- Was this an isolated instance,
or do the police routinely lie to the media when it suits their
interests?
Sabo obviously wants to send
a message to the police service that lying to the public will
not be tolerated under any circumstances. If so, then it would
be useful to hear how he intends to spell that out in police
policy, and how it will be enforced.
For example, if there are any
circumstances in which a lie is acceptable, then what are they?
Secondly, when Sabo or anyone else within the police service
sees a police spokesperson publicly telling an untruth, what
action will they be required to take?
I predict we'll hear precious
little about how things will change in the future as a result
of the Wiks affair.
And without answers to these
kinds of questions, the political aspects of this story will
loom much larger.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
Deputy
chief charged
Wiks faces two counts of discreditable conduct
Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix,
September 2, 2004
Saskatoon deputy police chief
Daniel Wiks faces two counts of discreditable conduct over misleading
statements he made in a StarPhoenix interview last year prior
to the start of the Neil Stonechild inquiry.
Wiks is charged with offences
under two sections of the Municipal Police Discipline Regulations,
police Chief Russell Sabo told a news conference Wednesday.
Wiks has been on paid administrative
leave since March, after he acknowledged while testifying at
the inquiry that he gave incorrect information to former StarPhoenix
reporter James Parker in a May 2003 interview.
When asked why constables Larry
Hartwig and Bradley Senger had not been suspended while RCMP
investigated their possible involvement in Stonechild's 1990
freezing death, Wiks replied, "the only reason we would
suspend somebody is if we had some indication that there was
some wrongdoing. We had no indication of that whatsoever. And
we still don't."
Wiks said the quotations were
accurate. He told the inquiry, however, that the police service
did have "significant evidence" since June 2000 that
RCMP had found there was a possibility that Hartwig and Senger
had Stonechild in their car the night he went missing.
Elsewhere in the same article,
Wiks said the department did not know Hartwig and Senger were
considered suspects.
Wiks acknowledged at the inquiry
that he was aware the RCMP were looking into an allegation by
Stonechild's friend, Jason Roy, that he had seen Stonechild the
night he went missing in the back of a police cruiser, handcuffed
and bleeding and screaming, "they're gonna kill me."
Sabo said Wednesday he decided
to lay the charges based on findings of an independent investigator.
He chose to lay the charges, rather than "proceeding by
way of remedial action," in the interest of openness and
transparency, he said.
The matter will now be referred
to a hearing officer. The hearings will be open to the public,
Sabo said, though he did not indicate when they will be heard.
"I have concluded that
to balance most appropriately the fundamental needs of fairness
to deputy chief Wiks as well as ensuring public confidence in
the service, this matter should go to a discipline hearing conducted
by a hearing officer that will be open to the public, independent,
fair and unbiased," Sabo said.
The Police Act provides a broad
range of penalties ranging from remedial action, such as education
or counselling, to dismissal from the force.
It usually takes two to four
weeks for a hearing officer to be appointed, Wiks' lawyer Richard
Danyliuk said Wednesday.
A hearing date would be set
sometime after that, hopefully before Christmas, Danyliuk said.
After almost six months of
being on administrative leave, Wiks is pleased that the matter
is finally progressing, Danyliuk said.
"He's got pretty much
an exemplary service record so in light of that and in light
of giving faithful service to the police force for 30 years,
he obviously would like to have this dealt with," Danyliuk
said.
Danyliuk said he is surprised
by the wording of one the charges, which alleges Wiks "wilfully"
made a misleading statement considering the investigator reported
that he could not establish that Wiks intentionally misled the
reporter.
"Given that that's his
finding, it's a little surprising to find a charge alleging he
was wilful or did act with intention," Danyliuk said.
Don Worme, the lawyer for Stonechild's
family, said it is important that people in positions of authority
be held accountable for their actions.
"It's unfortunate that
these kinds of things have happened but I think it is also appropriate
that people be called to answer for this kind of conduct if we
are to have the kind of community our children deserve."
The charges are "awfully
small comfort" for Stonechild's family, who were rebuffed
by the police when they questioned the investigation soon after
it happened, Worme said.
Inquiry commissioner Justice
David Wright is expected to submit his report to the minister
of justice before the end of October, said Candace Congram, executive
director of the inquiry.
Near the end of the inquiry,
Wright issued a "notice of potential adverse findings"
to Wiks, who was then granted standing and funding to have a
lawyer speak on his behalf at closing arguments.
Wiks was the highest ranking
current member of the force to testify at the inquiry, which
looked into the death of the 17-year-old Saulteaux youth.
Stonechild's body was found
in a field in the north industrial area on Nov. 29, 1990, five
days after he went missing from his Confederation Park neighbourhood.
After a brief, three-day investigation,
the death was ruled an accident by then-sergeant Keith Jarvis,
who speculated the 17-year-old was attempting to walk to the
adult jail to turn himself in but that he wandered around, drunk
and lost, until he froze to death.
Jarvis did not find out how
Stonechild arrived at the site, about nine kilometres from where
he was last seen alive.
The investigation was criticized
on the front page of the StarPhoenix three months later, in March
1991, by Stonechild's mother, Stella Bignell, who said the investigation
would have been more thorough if Neil had been the mayor's son.
The complaint was dismissed
by then media liaison officer, Dave Scott, who later became chief
of police. Scott told a reporter that police had done a thorough
investigation and had "pursued every avenue."
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
Saskatoon police official facing
charges
CTV.ca News Staff, Updated:
Wed. Sep. 1 2004 8:31 PM ET
Saskatoon's deputy police chief
is facing two charges of disreputable conduct related to the
Neil Stonechild inquiry.
Dan Wiks testified at the inquiry
in March. He's since been on administrative leave. He allegedly
made misleading comments to the media about the investigation
into Stonechild's November 1990 death.
Chief Russell Sabo of the Saskatoon
Police Service said an open public hearing into the Police Act
charges will be held. Saskatchewan Justice will appoint a hearing
officer for the case.
Stonechild was last seen alive
while struggling with two Saskatoon Police officers before being
loaded into the back of a cruiser.
He was later found frozen to
death outside Saskatoon.
It is suspected the officers
dropped him off outside the city -- something the police denied.
However, there have been other
cases of native men being found frozen to death outside Saskatoon.
One man, Darrell Night, survived
the experience. Two officers were convicted of unlawful confinement
in his case, fired and sentenced to eight months in jail.
A Conservative MP, Maurice
Vellacott of Saskatoon-Wanuskewin, claimed to have evidence that
might have led to an acquittal. But Frank Quennell, Saskatchewan's
justice minister, said he saw no reason to re-open the case.
The inquiry, however, is only
looking into the circumstances surrounding Stonechild's death.
It wrapped up hearing evidence
in mid-May. A report is expected sometime in October.
Although the Stonechild inquiry
isn't charged with assigning blame in the case, Commissioner
David Wright will be able to make recommendations.
Among the ideas expected to
be included when the final report is made public later this summer,
is the creation of a First Nations Police Force designed to improve
strained relations between police and the city's aboriginal community.
© Copyright 2004
Bell Globemedia Inc.
Wiks disciplined:
Deputy police chief lied about evidence to newspaper reporter
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix,
March 18, 2004
Police Chief Russell Sabo swiftly
removed deputy chief Dan Wiks from his post following Wiks' admission
to the Stonechild inquiry he lied to The StarPhoenix about evidence.
Sabo hastily announced Wednesday
that Wiks was placed on paid administrative leave last Friday,
a day after wrapping up testimony to the inquiry.
The leave is pending a police
misconduct investigation by an external party not yet selected.
Wiks, who has served 31 years
with the force, had denied in a May 2003 interview that the service
knew RCMP considered constables Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger
suspects and that there was evidence suggesting Stonechild had
been in their car the night he went missing.
"All of us recognize that
the public must have confidence in their police," Sabo said
in an interview. "Any circumstance where the police are
alleged to have committed a misconduct and public confidence
is an issue of grave concern to myself as chief of police and
all our members."
Wiks' leave status will be
reviewed before the end of the month. The force could then consider
suspending Wiks.
Sabo said whether administrative
leave is a disciplinary move is subject to interpretation.
Const. Stan Goertzen, president
of the city police association, said it seems clear to him.
"An administrative leave
sounds like a suspension to me. It's just sugar-coating a suspension."
Wiks is not a member of the
police association. Goertzen said rank and file officers are
struggling to reconcile Wiks' testimony with the man they know.
"Did he deliberately try
to mislead (media)? I'd be real surprised. Should he have been
clearer? Possibly."
Wiks, who couldn't be reached
for comment, was "supportive" of administrative leave
and understands the seriousness of the matter, Sabo said.
Sabo acknowledges he knew himself
that Hartwig and Senger were suspects long before the newspaper
article appeared. He didn't catch the lie at that time because
he was then on his own leave and wasn't reading the newspaper.
"First time I saw (the
article) was during the inquiry," he said. "I was trying
to avoid all of the media during that time."
Mayor Don Atchison, chair of
the police commission, said he wasn't aware until Wednesday of
the change in Wiks' status. He said he hopes the public is encouraged
that the force is taking action.
"They're trying to address
it immediately, as opposed to just letting it lie there until
someone comes forward with a complaint."
Don Worme, lawyer for Neil
Stonechild's family, and Si Halyk, lawyer for the Federation
of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, declined comment on Wiks' leave.
The service will appoint a
senior officer to take Wiks' place while he's away.
It's unusual for the force
to publicize internal discipline matters, Sabo acknowledged.
He said he did so late Wednesday afternoon as a result of StarPhoenix
inquiries about Wiks' status.
Sabo himself was on a paid
leave of absence for eight weeks last year while an investigation
into harassment of his former executive assistant was ongoing.
He then returned to work after he publicly apologized for his
actions.
"I have a great deal of
sympathy for any officer that goes through an investigation,"
he said.
© Copyright 2004 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
Wiks with
Dueck at 2003 sod-turning for brief detox addition to Larson
House >
|
Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
