Police chief suspends two city cops

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Just as the 14th anniversary of Neil Stonechild's death was approaching, the report from the inquiry into his suspicious death was released and spells out plainly that police activities in the final hours of the 17-year-old's life were highly questionable.

Stonechild's frozen body was found on the outskirts of Saskatoon in an industrial area on Nov. 29, 1990. Inquiry chief commissioner David Wright said there is no question that Stonechild was in the custody of police shortly before his death, something the Saskatoon city police have denied repeatedly.

The final report was released by the Saskatchewan justice minister on Oct. 26. After weighing weeks of testimony and a huge collection of evidence, Wright also found that an internal Saskatchewan Police Service investigation into the matter was closed "without answering the many questions that surrounded the Stonechild death and disappearance."

Don Worme, the Saskatoon lawyer who represented Stella Bignell, Stonechild's mother, at the inquiry, said the report shows his client has been right to push for justice for the last 14 years even after police called the death an accident.

"It is a complete and utter vindication of Stella Bignell and of those who have pursued justice at all costs," he said. "The main lesson is that a mother's love for her child is relentless and her pursuit for justice because of her love was relentless. Today, Stella Bignell and her family have a small measure of closure and she can begin to move towards the peace that she deserves."

Worme said the criminal investigation remains open and he is confident there will be an accounting brought to bear.

"It may not be immediate, but as you know, this woman is infinitely patient. She changed the world, absolutely. And for me it's a privilege, an honor to serve her."

Windspeaker reached the lawyer while he and his client were meeting with Saskatoon Chief of Police Russell Sabo. He returned our call after the meeting and said that Sabo had informed them he had suspended one of the officers and would make that announcement at a press conference scheduled for an hour later. At the press conference Sabo announced that both officers, constables Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger, who were found to have taken Stonechild into custody that night had been suspended.

While Wright's report states quite directly that Stonechild was in police custody just before his death, the report doesn't jump to finding the officers caused the death.

"You've got to understand that the mandate of the inquiry does not permit a finding of civil or criminal responsibility," Worme explained. "But I would suggest to you that the logic is inescapable. That if, in fact, as was found, this boy was in the custody of police and in particular in the custody of Hartwig and Senger and that he had marks on his body consistent with being caused by handcuffs and he was found several days later, the inescapable conclusion is there. It's not rocket surgery, as Don Cherry might say."

The lawyer said Wright found that the two officers' version of events was not credible.

"He goes on to comment on the veracity of these two individuals and was particularly harsh, I would suggest, with respect to officer Hartwig, suspended officer Hartwig," Worme said. "And he said there's only two things that could possibly have happened. And that is, given Hartwig's answers of 'I don't know. I don't know. I don't know' and yet his perfect recollection on other matters, Justice Wright found that this individual was deceptive and deliberately deceptive. And you'll read that in the report."

Another city police officer, now retired, was also criticized in the report, Officer Keith Jarvis who conducted an investigation into any police involvement in Stonechild's death.

"[Wright] said there's only two possibilities as to why [Jarvis] was so shabby in that undertaking, and that was either he knew there was police involvement or he suected there was police involvement," the lawyer said. "Jarvis is retired but there's obviously questions about his accountability, and we intend to pursue our client's instructions. She has instructed us to obtain accountability from these individuals and we aim to do that."

A civil lawsuit may be initiated, but the victim's mother has offered to take steps to avoid that.

"We invited, we urged those individuals who bear responsibility in this ... to come and approach us in an up front way, in an honest way and deal with us as reasonable human beings," Worme said. "We can talk about the final elements that Stella requires in order to get closure on this and that is reparations. We urged them to do it that way but if they want to do it another way, if they want litigation, if they want legal warfare, then we will wage that. But that's not what Stella wants. She wants closure. She wants peace for this community. And she deserves that."

The police chief invited Bignell to his office for the meeting before he responded publicly to the report.

"It was his meeting. He wanted to meet with Stella," Worme said. "He had indicated to her, and we thanked him for this, that he accepts the findings and the recommendations [of the inquiry]. He extended on behalf of the police service of Saskatoon his sincere apology to Mrs. Bignell and her family."

Earlier that day, in the provincial capital of Regina, Saskatchewan Justice Minister Frank Quennell held a press conference to publicly release the final report of the Commission of Inquiry into Matters Relating to the Death of Neil Stonechild, and provide his government's response.

"First, the government of Saskatchewan accepts both the recommendations of the report and the commissioner's findings," he said.

The minister said he'd met with the victim's mother before the report was released to the public.

"I wanted to meet privately with Mrs. Bignell to express my sympathy to her, as well as the sympathy of the goenment of Saskatchewan," he said. "I also met with Mrs. Bignell to apologize to her. I am sorry that she and her family had to wait 14 years for the investigation they deserved from the outset. No mother should be called upon to exhibit the strength and grace that Stella Bignell has shown throughout the years since her son's death. I admire her."

The justice minister admitted the commissioner's findings were alarming.

"The findings are, for me, personally and as attorney general for Saskatchewan, most troubling. The commissioner finds that Neil Stonechild was in the custody of two Saskatoon police officers on the night he was last seen alive and that injuries to his body were likely caused by handcuffs. The commissioner also finds that the principle investigator assigned to the case in 1990 carried out a superficial and totally inadequate investigation," he said.

But, he added, the province's public prosecutions office has reviewed the matter and does not feel there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges.

"The prosecution standard is a 'reasonable likelihood of conviction' and, after carefully considering this report, prosecutors are satisfied that standard cannot be met for any potential charge arising out of this case," he said. "This is a matter I discussed with Mrs. Bignell when I met with her yesterday. The investigation into Neil Stonechild's death will remain open. The RCMP will follow up on any new lead or new information that comes to its attention at any time in the future."

Quennell also noted that Wright had found that "in the years following Neil Stonechild's death, the Saskatoon Police Service rejected or ignored information from the Stonechild family and the media that cast doubt on the conduct of the investigation."

The minister said he has begun discussions with the Saskatoon chief of police and the Saskatoon board of police commissioners "to establish a plan to respond constructively to the report."

A reality exprssd by many Native people who live in the poor part of Saskatoon where stories of police misconduct are many-Premier Lorne Calvert's riding-was also detailed in Wright's report and noted by the justice minister.

"In his report Commissioner Wright speaks of the 'two solitudes' that exist in our province?the gulf between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people?of the distrust in non-Aboriginal institutions," the minister said. "This case shows us, in sharp relief, the tragic consequences of that gulf. We cannot accept a society in which the most vulnerable people in our community are not able to turn for help to those entrusted with protecting them. I do not accept that situation. The government of this province does not accept that situation. The death of a 17-year-old boy is a tragedy. It deserves our attention. It deserves our very best efforts. We may not always be able to determine with certainty what happened in the case of a tragic and premature death, but we must try our best."

Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) Vice Chief Lawrence Joseph seized on the report to call for more First Nation participation in the province's justice system.

"The final report of the inquiry clearly reveals that systemic indifference, negligence and outright dishonesty exists at the most senior levels of policing agencies in Saskatchewan," Joseph said. "And we believe that the only meaningful and significant way to correct this is for mainstream governments to assist First Nations people in building their own justice system."

Joseph called for the dismissal of constables Hartwig and Senger who, he said, can no longer continue to conceal their involvement with Neil Stonechild on the night of his death. He also demanded that senior officers who were involved or chose to ignore the negligent investigation be disciplined.

The FSIN applauded David Wright for his "boldness in searching for the truth."

"Healing begins where denial ends," Joseph said, "and th