But formal complaints by trio yet to be made

By Len Kruzenga

Winnipeg Police Service Chief Jack Ewatski has confirmed an investigation has been launched into allegations made by three men that they were picked up by city police officers and abandoned miles outside the city earlier this spring.

The Professional Standards Unit is handling the initial investigation.

However none of the three men who made the claims has yet to formally launch a complaint with police, according to Ewatski.

As a result the investigation cannot to proceed further without a thorough interview with the complainants.

One of the men, Garrett Barthalette, says he is awaiting further legal advice before meeting with police investigators. The other two men, who continue to maintain their anonymity, are also weighing their options but have told The Drum that they fear potential recriminations.

SCO Grand Chief Margaret Swan said she was particularly concerned regarding the men's allegations, coming hard on the heels of news that an investigation of similar allegations in Saskatoon has broadened to include the deaths of Neil Stonechild, Rodney Naistus and Lawrance Wegner, three aboriginal men whose bodies were found outside Saskatoon during the last decade.

That investigation is occurring as a result of last year's conviction of two Saskatoon city police officers, Daniel Hatchen and Keith Munson, for the unlawful confinement of another aboriginal man, Darrell Night, who they dumped at the city's outskirts in sub-zero temperatures.

And she said her office has received other complaints that "reveals and confirms a very disturbing trend within the City of Winnipeg Police Service, something is definitely wrong when aboriginal individuals are in the custody of, or have any sort of interaction with the city police."

And she questioned the investigation of the Winnipeg complaints by the Professional Standards Unit.

"This begs the question: Is it humanly possible for the city police to objectively and satisfactorily investigate themselves?

In addressing the question, let us not forget the J.J. Harper case where no one from the Winnipeg City Police was found responsible for his tragic demise," said Swan.

At least two more aboriginal men have contacted The Drum alleging they too were picked up by WPS uniform members in the inner city and dumped on the outskirts of Winnipeg.

Several rank-and file WPS officers say the men's complaints need to be investigated thoroughly.

"This gives members on the street a real black eye and makes our job down here (inner-city) tougher than it already is," said one 16-year veteran. "The story of these guys sounds right, after all what do they have to gain they're not claiming they were beat up or anything but those service members didn't do their job. They were lazy and should be held accountable for the credibility of the other officers who works their butts off."

When the original story broke in The Drum some officers in Division 11 began trying to piece the story together for themselves, said another police source.

"When some of the guys heard about the story they began trying to informally trace who was all on that shift. There's an overlap between two shifts at that time of night with the evening and night platoon.

"None of the talk is specific but I can tell you that lots of the cars working that night are mad because if the investigation gets going its' going to bring a lot of heat down on everyone."

Asked if aboriginals are subjected to midnight rides most officers remained elusive.

"Look sometimes were completely overwhelmed down here and sometimes if there's nothing serious on some characters who guys know will be getting into trouble later things don't always go by the book.

"Sometimes there's a choice to be made to keep on the streets when all hell is breaking loose or get tied up for hours with a bunch of paperwork for warrants where they'll'' be out the next day anyways.

However another senior officer says he and any responsible thinking member would categorically reject any rationale for such behaviour.

"It could have gone really really wrong. What if something had happened to one of those men while they were trying to get back into the city?

"They could have gotten angry or gotten into criminal trouble out there and the officers who dropped them off, if that's what happened, would be responsible for having set up the circumstances for something like that. If these fellows were dropped off they were picked up by a couple of sluffers, by guys who aren't doing the job."

And he noted that if the men were dropped off outside city limits the officers have also unwittingly set up a situation in RCMP jurisdiction.

"They (RCMP) if the allegations are proved true will handle the laying of criminal charges if they are warranted. The crime... and it is a crime to unlawfully detain someone, will be an RCMP investigation then.

"If it's true it was stupid in so many ways. There's an old rule that you don't dump your mess or troubles in someone else's yard."

But unless the men formally lay complaints with the police or the Law Enforcement Review Agency there's little hope a comprehensive investigation or review will ever take place.

"These guys have to step up otherwise it's a lot of hot air. It's one thing to yap about it and then do nothing. If they got a case then make it," said the same officer.

"Whatever legal stuff they have that they want to avoid isn't going away. It's like some weird stalemate where the police brass don't want to push things and arrest Barthalette and Barthalette doesn't want to show up at the PSB (Public Safety Building) because he'll get arrested first.

"And the mainstream media is ducking this thing too. I had a couple of reporters sniffing around asking questions but it seems to be that because their aren't any corpses here like in Saskatoon that it's not big enough for them. So what they're saying is until someone shows up dead, we don't care."