It is two years later and there are now charges against East St. Paul Chief Harry Bakema.
The criminal charges are:
perjury
criminal breach of trust
obstruction of justice
All of the charges pertain to the death of Crystal Taman in 2005 in East St Paul by a police officer from the Winnipeg Police Service.
At end of the Taman Inquiry, I wrote this:
Bakema had such faulty memory that he couldn't even remember calls he made to a auto dealership at the scene. The lack of notes sure looks bad. The rules of the East Saint Paul Police clearly state that notes are needed at any crime scene.
The RCMP has concluded after lengthy investigation that Bakema acted criminally in the case.
Crystal Taman, killed on February 25, 2005 by Constable Derek Harvey-Zenk at the corner of Lagimodiere and the Perimeter Highway was spared any jail time save for dangerous driving. The sentence was under two years to be served at home.
Imagine how things would have been different had a good investigation been done.
What's interesting is that the B.C. RCMP and Alberta Justice found something here that Manitoba Justice didn't. [A contracted independent local lawyer] reviewed the ESP police investigation pre-Taman inquiry and said while there were issues, no criminal charges were warranted.
ReplyDeleteBut, that was, like I said, pre-inquiry. Lots changed after the testimony given there.
I think there was questions of just how independent the local lawyer was.
ReplyDeleteThis will be an interesting trial.