Another mess
left by Scott for the Saskatoon Police to clean up
Update on John Melenchuk
John Melenchuk
On October 31, 1998 John Melenchuk,
Myles Ducharme and Darrell Osecap stopped to buy offsale beer.
They were attacked by a man with a knife who was known to Ducharme.
Melenchuk was seriously injured and Ducharme was also hurt. Melenchuk
was in no condition to be interviewed but Ducharme gave the name
of the attacker to police.
Five days after the incident,
when Melenchuk had sufficiently recovered from surgery, he assumed
that the man who had almost killed him would be in custody. When
he found out that this was not the case, he set about to find
out why.
He has received the same run-around
that many people who have complained to the police have encountered.
He conducted a 24 hour vigil in front of the police station in
January in the chilling cold. Chief Sabo brought him a cup of
coffee. The local media took him less than seriously. He has
from time to time continued his demonstration and he has a large
hand-out of material about his case and others involving Saskatoon
Police Service's failure to serve and protect without racial
bias.
All he has been asking for
is that the man who stabbed him be charged and tried.
According to Gritzfeld from
the Complaints Dept. in Regina, he has no legitimate complaint
because he failed to give police the name of his assailant (Myles
Ducharme did give the name) while he was questioned by police
in hospital. Gritzfeld goes on to say that during the course
of the police investigation, neighbours were said to have overheard
one of the three tell police, "Don't worry about it. We'll
take care of it."
I therefore assume that the
assailant was also Native. And that the police were satisfied
with allowing street justice to take its course.
It is not that often that a
Native person will express a willingness to file a complaint
against another Native. When that happens, as it did in this
case, the police should be delighted: they are finally being
allowed to do their jobs. But no. They have resisted Melenchuk's
complaints to the point of idiocy.
A letter from former Chief
Dave Scott dated April 27, 2001 states "I am in agreement
with Mr. Gritzfeld's decision [to close the file] . . .it is
unfortunate that both of you were unable to identify your assailants
and that there were no independent witnesses to assist . . ."
while Melenchuk had provided the assailants' name to him in May,
2000.
Now that Scott has gone, we
hope that Melenchuk will get somewhere with his complaint.
There can be no healing and
no racial harmony in this City until bad policing, like the service
Melenchuk received, is fixed.
Saskatchewan in chaos
and on tilt
- Just after lunchtime Friday,
August 29, (before the long week-end) John Melenchuk was arrested.
He was charged with wearing a mask while committing an indictable
offence, disturbing the peace and traspassing on property belonging
to the Saskatchewan Liquor Commission (which apparently rents
the property to the Saskatoon Police which has the Little Chief
Station there). Each one of these charges is outrageous and will
not stand up to any scrutiny.
- We had posted a videotape
of the arrest as a large file quicktime (22M). We have taken
it down, but if anyone would like to copy it, just e-mail me
and I will post it for long enough to let you do so. This arrest
has clear racial overtones and also is intended to get us off
the street. We feel it may also have been motivated by former
Conservative MP, now talk show host John Gormley's statement
on the radio Thursday morning that injusticebusters is "out
of control" and "on a rampage." He was released
at 10.16 p.m. His bullhorn, mask and shirt were confiscated,
but he was allowed to keep a mask of the composite drawing of
the cop suspected in the Wegner freezing.
- These 20 pictures taken before the arrest clearly show
the peaceful and good natured atmosphere of the demonstration.
- Premier Lorne Calvert has
announced that he will announce a fall election on the steps
of the legislature in Regina on September 8 at 10 p.m. That happens
to be the exact moment the Trial of the Century is scheduled
to convene. Funny, when we went to see Calvert at the Legislature
last May, we were told he could not meet with us because he was
in Saskatoon at his office announcing he would not call a spring
election. (He didn't do it)
- Eric Cline was busy in Prince
Albert turning the sod for a new "job creation" venture
just as the auditor had announced the province is in deep trouble
and reports from the Fraser Institute said Saskatchewan rates
lowest of all provinces for job creation, in both the public
and the private sector. Does anybody else find it hard to tell
the difference in this province? Are the Crowns public or private?
And where has the money gone?
John Melenchuk received
the following letter which shows how arrogant and self-serving
another agency which is supposed to protect the rights of citizens
can be: Letter
|
 Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
Truth suppress'd, whether
by courts or crooks, will find an avenue to be told. Sheila Steele, injusticebusters.com
If you hold the mouth
of Truth, It will burst out its rib-cage. Somali proverb
Publisher : Sheila
Steele
Got something
to say about this or any other stories on this site? Go to injusticebustersblog Participate!
- injusticebusters
court advice :
- How to walk yourself through the justice system
-
- Why you should dump your preliminary hearing (written July 1998 and still valid)
-
- Sermonette:
The
Naked Truth -- (You
will find links to many more sermonettes in the sidebar on this
page
Another target
of Dueck's malice: : Wilf Hathway
Our activism
contributed greatly to the good vibes which happened around the civil
trial.
Index
to the stories on this website
This is not
regularly updated so if you are looking for a particular story
and you have a name or keyword, please use the site search engine(at
the bottom of the page) which IS regularly updated
Index to Saskatoon Police stories
This is a pretty good scrapbook
for the 1998-2002 period.
Inquiry into the malicious prosecution of David
Milgaard untanling 36 years of Saskatchewan police and Crown
misconduct: : Opening day 1 | 2
| 3 | 4
| 5 | 6
| 7 |
- Stephen Williams:
Canadian writer subject to Stasi-like treatment by Canadian police
- Terry
Arnold: : Snitch a
suicide?
- RCMP
scenario stings: Brian
Hutchinson starts digging
- Gary
wells: Faulty eye-witness
testimony
- Tulia,
Texas
- Gilmer,
Texas
- Willie
Upshaw
- Wrongfully convicted in Canada
- Foster Parent false accusations
- Martensville
- Don
Smith obscenity trial: an obscene conviction
- James
Lockyer
- Hurricane
Carter
- Johnny Cochran speaks up for
Bill Sampson
- Vopnis
- Abdulai
Mohamed
- Nfld Defamation story:
- Wanda
Young
- Racism
in the Federal Civil Service
- Did
Gordon James Severight really die by accidentally drowning in
1997?
-
- George
Bird
- Frank
Joseph Paul
- Darrell
Night
- Hatchen and Munson
- Melvin
Bigsky
- Lawrence
Wegner
- Rodney
Naistus
- Neil
Stonechild
- Keldon
McMillan
- Everardo
Torres
-
The Terrible Story behind the Atif Rafay and
Sebastian Burns convictions
Trial
set for June 15
We
know part of this disclosure is a forged statement and perjured
affidavit from a Winnipeg cop
-
-
-
-
The
Crown is still fighting Fred Poirier -- and they are losing.
Secret Commissions Case from Northern B.C.
-
-
- 2005: In
the United States the proven wrongful convictions just keep coming
at us!
-
- Brandon Morin:
- Convicted in Oregon
- of rapes which did not happen
- This website has good information
about Measure 11 -- Oregon's Mandatory Sentencing requirements
which have been in place since 1994. In this case we see how
the combination of a flawed grand jury system and prosecutors
who seek not justice but convictions is a recipe for wrongful
convictions.
-
Canadians who
have been wrongfully convicted because of improper investigations
combined with zealous Crown
A round-up of wrongful convictions in Canada
Toronto Police paid out $30M in secretly resolved
claims over last five years
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