Breakthrough for non-white candidates in office traditionally hardest to crack
TORONTO STAR. Nov. 29, 2006. 01:00 AM. PAGE D4
NICHOLAS KEUNG
IMMIGRATION/DIVERSITY REPORTER
As municipal councils across the GTA start taking oaths of office and settling down to business next week, a few will look a little less white bread than they did before the Nov. 13 election.
Overall, members of visible minorities will hold 14 municipal seats — up from nine in the 2003 election. The gains are all in the regions: four seats in York Region alone, one in Oakville, and one in Clarington, where newly elected Willie Woo will sit as the only visible-minority councillor in Durham Region.
Toronto's 45-member city council, on the other hand, will see a drop from five to four.
That there are gains at all is a breakthrough for an office traditionally the hardest for minority candidates to crack, largely because of the lack of a party system to support newcomers.
Even for his fellow Chinese Canadians, Woo's election win in Clarington seems an anomaly.
The 52-year-old quality-control inspector, believed to be the only visible-minority person elected to a council seat in Durham Region, didn't have an "ethnic vote" to count on in this fairly homogenous community.
But he had all the real components of success: long-term entrenchment in the community, involvement well beyond the candidate's ethnic group, and a race lacking an incumbent or too many visible-minority candidates siphoning votes.
"That's a lot of ingredients in a recipe, and it didn't come up in a lot of wards," noted Myer Siemiatycki, professor of politics and public administration at Ryerson University. "We are talking about a small number of races where the variety of dynamics came into play to put these candidates on the top."
Born in Canada, Woo has lived in Clarington since 1954, when his family moved there from Peterborough to open a restaurant. For years, he has worked at the Goodyear plant and volunteered at community Christmas feasts, polar bear swims, organ tissue donation drives, Heart and Stroke Foundation events, blood clinics, Terry Fox runs and a women's shelter.
"A lot of the voters saw me growing up here. Many thought of me simply as Willie, as a hometown boy. You are just one of them," explained Woo, who ran unsuccessfully against an incumbent for a regional council seat in 2000. "I wouldn't say my victory came as a surprise, but it's definitely monumental."
Visible minorities, according to a Star analysis based on photographs and surnames of the winners, also made some headway in GTA school boards.
Veteran community activist Marlene Mogado, one of two Filipino Canadian Catholic trustees elected, said running in a ward with high visible-minority population doesn't always work to your advantage.
Almost a decade ago, she ran for a Markham council seat in a wide-open race against six others. The victor, Tony Wong, later became a Liberal MPP and now is back as a regional councillor.
"It's difficult to unseat an incumbent because the incumbent's name is known and recognized, but that's why you need to build credentials and a strong support base through your community involvement," said Mogado, who has served on the boards of the district health council, training and adjustment body, race relations committee and children's festival.
"What made the difference between my two races was I ran (for council) in a Chinese dominant ward, and this time, I ran as a trustee for four wards (4, 5, 7 and 8 in Markham), and there isn't a monopoly of one dominant group any more." Mogado squeaked by incumbent Frank Alexander by 147 votes.
Olga Lambert, a French-born Togolese who's been in Canada for 20 years, credits the shared minority status of francophone for her win in an open Durham French Separate School Board seat. It helps to have a French name on the ballot, she noted.
"The francophone community in Ontario is very diverse, and it's not really an issue whether you're a minority or not," said the Ajax computer analyst. "French is already a minority in Ontario, and we all want to keep our kids in French schools."
Historically, minority candidates have suffered under the assumption that their first loyalty is to their ethno-cultural group. But Siemiatycki said their triumph in the 905 areas is a sending a message to the rest of Canada that you needn't be white to speak for all Canadians.
While it's fair to say the dominance of Chinese voters in pockets of York Region helped get Chinese candidates elected, he said their success underscores the importance of reaching out to the broader community.
Veteran Caledon regional councillor Annette Groves, a Jamaican Canadian of South Asian descent, said candidates may be hindered by self-consciousness about their minority status, as she was when she won a wide-open race in 2000.
"We tend to limit ourselves because we're (thinking that) we're not going to succeed," said the ex-dental office administrator, who immigrated in 1979 and has lived in Caledon 14 years.
"But you have to put all that stuff aside to be yourself. People will accept you for who you are. They don't see me as a brown girl talking to them, but as Annette, someone who represents everybody's concerns in the community."
While most victors have lived in their towns for a long time, rookie Max Khan, 34, elected in Oakville's Ward 6, said that shouldn't matter as long as the person is fully engaged.
Voters have become more sophisticated and a candidate's cultural heritage is no longer a big deal, he said, provided he or she thoroughly understands local needs and can articulate ways of addressing them. "It's the nitty gritty local issues that voters really care about. You need substance, or voters are going to see through that," said the Canadian-born lawyer.
"A lot of times visible minorities are not entering the race unless a threshold is reached and they see a Sikh, a Hindu or Chinese being elected. And they wait for that threshold." Khan, whose heritage is Pakistani, is believed to be Oakville's first visible minority councillor.
Joseph W. Wong, vice president of the Chinese Canadian Civic Association, was particularly buoyed by the success of candidates from his community, which sent 10 of its 44 GTA hopefuls to councils and boards.
To have even better results four years from now would require stronger "strategic planning" among visible-minority groups to co-ordinate their limited human and financial resources, he says.
That's already emerging in Markham, where six Chinese candidates running in different wards campaigned as a team. Grassroots groups like Wong's helped promote voter turnout.
Official information from Markham showed that 36 per cent of the town's Chinese voters cast ballots in the advance polls, up from 17 per cent in 2003.
"I think we're entering a pioneering stage in our municipal politics because we're seeing more candidates running, more people voting," said Wong.
"But at the end of the day, there's no miracle in election. You have to earn it with years of hard work in your community. That's the golden rule...."
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
Reodica Inquest: Final 2-weeks of Testimonies, Jury Verdict and Recommendations
Published in BALITA of 16 October 2006 on page 4.
By: Marlene Mogado
After 47 witnesses and 10 weeks of testimony, the 4-member jury at the Coroner’s inquest on the shooting death of 17-yearr old Jeffrey Reodica finally issued its verdict.
BALITA was there to cover the finale, having sat through the process from the beginning in May 8 until October 13, 2006.
The inquest cannot make findings of civil or criminal responsibility. Its main purpose is to make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.
It heard that plainclothes officer Dan Belanger shot Jeffrey Reodica three times in the back on May 21, 2004. He died three days later at Sunnybrook Hospital & Women’s College Health Centre in Toronto.
The shooting was preceded the day before by a fight between two groups of youths – “one white, the other mostly Filipino.”
Before going to the verdict and recommendations, let’s look at testimonies of experts and resource witnesses introduced during the last two weeks of the inquest to assist the jurors reach their decisions.
Gun a prohibited firearm
A firearms examiner at the Ontario Centre of Forensic Sciences, Ms Calamita, had examined the firearm and clothing of Jeffrey.
She testified that since there was “no gunpowder residue” found she concluded that Jeffrey was shot at a distance “greater than 4 feet”, or “unless the clothing was mishandled.”
She also said the semi-automatic handgun Glock 27 model was a “prohibited firearm” under the Criminal Code Act of Canada, Sect 84, because it had a barrel length of 87.2 mm (less than required 105 mm) and its bullet “fragments” causing unnecessary damage to its target, hence not suitable for police purposes. When asked if police are allowed to carry the weapon, Calamita’s response was “not 100% sure.”
Cause of death: “Anoxic head injury”
Dr. Sandro Rizoli, staff surgeon at Sunnybrook, headed the trauma team that attended on Jeffrey.
He clarified that their “first goal was to identify all injuries that are life threatening.” In Jeffrey’s case, the bullet wound in his upper back was the team’s priority. The bullet had fractured his C2 spinal cord, lodging near his brain stem causing shock and bleeding in the brain. Rizoli said this alone would have made him a “quadriplegic” had he survived.
He emphasized death was inevitable once the bullet went across Jeffrey’s spine because it would have shut off oxygen to his brain. “CPR and chest compressions did not make a difference, unless intubation was performed immediately”, he said.
Asked to explain inconsistencies in the medical reports, Dr. Rizoli offered these might have been “errors in transcribing.” While the radiologist reported the cause of death as “severe closed head injury,” to Dr. Rizoli it was “anoxic brain injury” or “lack of oxygen to the brain.”
With regards to the facial and head injuries of Jeffrey reported by the pathologist that was not included in his report, Dr. Rizoli admitted these might have been caused by the “stiff collar” used to immobilize Jeffrey when he was transported to the hospital. He said the shoulder injury “could have been caused by the straps used on the fracture board” although the boards “rarely cause injuries, odds are small.”
Another error in the reports refers to a second bullet recovered from Jeffrey’s body 2 days after the shooting- there was none.
“Jeffrey running away when shot”
The first witness at the inquest came back for cross-examination. Forensic pathologist Dr. Parai’s testimony was consistent with Dr. Rizoli as to the cause of death- i.e. “lack of oxygen to the brain.”
Dr. Parai explained that the different paths of the bullet wounds inside Jeffrey’s body indicated that both Jeffrey and Belanger were moving, and “Jeffrey was running away when shot.”
“Other options should have been done to test for fingerprint”
The fingerprint expert’s role in the Reodica case was to “make sure everything was attended to, but was not directly involved in the gathering of evidence.”
Richard Bunting worked with the Toronto Police Services Forensic Identification Services for 20 years gathering fingerprints in crime scenes until he retired in 2005. He said only “10% out of 4% on fingerprints is identifiable on knives” (much smaller in guns). Fingerprints “have a lifespan even after 30 years, unless they are removed by an outside influence… cold hands; the rougher the surface of the knife makes it more difficult; packaging; mishandling; humidity, and temperature can affect the detection of fingerprints,’ he added.
Mishandling could have compromised the integrity of the knife found at the scene since the SIU investigator packed it in plastic, then wrapped it in paper bag on another occasion.
“The best practice is to put the knife in a box or placed in clear tubes… glove prints can also be detected on a knife surface, but wasn’t done. When you cannot detect fingerprints, further testing is required and other options should be considered. This should have been done,” he said.
Community Relations Officer Constable Doug Ord
In 16 years as Liaison Officer, Toronto Police Constable Doug Ord has built extensive positive community relations with the Asian communities. Well known specially in the Filipino community, he admitted “courses on multiculturalism and diversity” and personal charm helped in his work but he had no specialized training on the Filipino community in particular. His fruitful involvement is capped by a trip to the Philippines a few years back, certificates of appreciation from various Filipino organizations, and membership as Commander in the distinguished international brotherhood of Knights of Rizal.
He described Filipinos as “well-educated, well-spoken in English, found all over the world,” but when asked where Filipinos are settled locally he said, “mostly in St. Jamestown and Bathurst.”
Queried on any backlash from Jeffrey’s shooting, he responded, “yes they are not the same, I have not been trusted, not invited to a lot of events.” This could be a reflection of the regular perception of police in the home country, he said. “They think of police as murderers… we have to change this, it’s a very cultural thing… Along with the Filipino penchant for protests like what they do in the Philippines, here it affects funding of organizations. Mainstream funders are looking at it…some of the problems are left for the courts to unravel,” he added.
Soon to retire, Constable Ord’s advice to his successor is “to continue outreach work with the Filipino community.”
Impact on Filipino community
The Jeffrey shooting has had the most impact on the Filipino and Asian communities the most, according to Nora Angeles, resource witness on the “impact of racism and youth violence” for the Canadian Alliance on Social Justice.
With extensive involvement in anti-racism and anti-oppression work, Angeles urged governments and schools to be more involved on anti-racism initiatives “to continue earning the trust from the community to these institutions”.
After each traumatic event against the Filipino community, the politicalization or awareness increases up a notch and more of us get mobilized and involved with social justice issues, she said. This was true with the Scarborough Town Centre incident, and now with the Jeffrey shooting, she added.
Finally, the Verdict of the Coroner’s Jury
Cause of death – Gunshot wound to upper back with penetrating injury to spinomedullary junction
By what means – HOMICIDE
JURY RECOMMENDATIONS
(These recommendations are not necessarily in order of priority.)
The Toronto police Service should study and determine whether outfitting unmarked police services with sirens, and/or “cherries”, and/or Public Address System and/or “Police” jackets, and/or “Police” armbands would be useful, cost effective and practical means to enhance identification of plain clothes officers, when required. The item(s) should be installed in such a way as to keep the undercover officers safe, secure and subversive.
Rationale: Testimony has shown that there was great controversy surrounding the attending officers identifying themselves.
The Toronto Police Services should require all plain clothes officers when responding to calls for service, now taking the role of “uniform officers” to take with them, by whatever means possible, all use of force options when exiting their vehicles.
Rationale: When the plain clothes officers respond to a call for service, if they have all of their use of force options on them, it will give the officers greater flexibility in their choice of options to accomplish the task at hand.
Parents or guardians of youths, who are being detained for the purpose of an interview by the police and/or SIU, should be notified as soon as practicable.
Rationale: Testimony has shown that most of the youths, aged 12 to 16 years, were detained by the police to be interviewed by the SIU. Some youths were at the police station for over 8 hours (approximately from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.) feeling tired, scared and hungry. As a result of this, it could have affected their statements.
Parents or guardians should be notified where the youths are and why they are being detained.
Community Liaison Officers should continue their practice of building up relationships and establishing trusts between themselves and the communities.
Rationale: This established relationship/trusts should encourage the community to approach the police for help. The communities will work with the police in resolving problems/conflicts occurring within the community before they escalate.
All maps and charts produced for the benefit of the participants of a coroner’s inquest should be such that their scale measurements are reliable, accurate and precise.
Rationale: The graphics in the exhibits were not to scale, therefore, witnesses were confused and their testimony may have been affected. It also caused some confusion for the jury.
The 911 transcripts should provide the precise time of the calls made when introduced at a coroner’s inquest.
Rationale: It was extremely confusing for the jury and some of the participants for not having the “precise time of calls” on the 911 transcripts.
The Ontario Police College should reinstate control training in their curriculum with regards to the expandable baton.
Rationale: It has been mandated that all police officers must be issued, amongst other items expandable batons and as such they should have the required training to understand when and how to use it, along with the striking option.
By: Marlene Mogado
After 47 witnesses and 10 weeks of testimony, the 4-member jury at the Coroner’s inquest on the shooting death of 17-yearr old Jeffrey Reodica finally issued its verdict.
BALITA was there to cover the finale, having sat through the process from the beginning in May 8 until October 13, 2006.
The inquest cannot make findings of civil or criminal responsibility. Its main purpose is to make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.
It heard that plainclothes officer Dan Belanger shot Jeffrey Reodica three times in the back on May 21, 2004. He died three days later at Sunnybrook Hospital & Women’s College Health Centre in Toronto.
The shooting was preceded the day before by a fight between two groups of youths – “one white, the other mostly Filipino.”
Before going to the verdict and recommendations, let’s look at testimonies of experts and resource witnesses introduced during the last two weeks of the inquest to assist the jurors reach their decisions.
Gun a prohibited firearm
A firearms examiner at the Ontario Centre of Forensic Sciences, Ms Calamita, had examined the firearm and clothing of Jeffrey.
She testified that since there was “no gunpowder residue” found she concluded that Jeffrey was shot at a distance “greater than 4 feet”, or “unless the clothing was mishandled.”
She also said the semi-automatic handgun Glock 27 model was a “prohibited firearm” under the Criminal Code Act of Canada, Sect 84, because it had a barrel length of 87.2 mm (less than required 105 mm) and its bullet “fragments” causing unnecessary damage to its target, hence not suitable for police purposes. When asked if police are allowed to carry the weapon, Calamita’s response was “not 100% sure.”
Cause of death: “Anoxic head injury”
Dr. Sandro Rizoli, staff surgeon at Sunnybrook, headed the trauma team that attended on Jeffrey.
He clarified that their “first goal was to identify all injuries that are life threatening.” In Jeffrey’s case, the bullet wound in his upper back was the team’s priority. The bullet had fractured his C2 spinal cord, lodging near his brain stem causing shock and bleeding in the brain. Rizoli said this alone would have made him a “quadriplegic” had he survived.
He emphasized death was inevitable once the bullet went across Jeffrey’s spine because it would have shut off oxygen to his brain. “CPR and chest compressions did not make a difference, unless intubation was performed immediately”, he said.
Asked to explain inconsistencies in the medical reports, Dr. Rizoli offered these might have been “errors in transcribing.” While the radiologist reported the cause of death as “severe closed head injury,” to Dr. Rizoli it was “anoxic brain injury” or “lack of oxygen to the brain.”
With regards to the facial and head injuries of Jeffrey reported by the pathologist that was not included in his report, Dr. Rizoli admitted these might have been caused by the “stiff collar” used to immobilize Jeffrey when he was transported to the hospital. He said the shoulder injury “could have been caused by the straps used on the fracture board” although the boards “rarely cause injuries, odds are small.”
Another error in the reports refers to a second bullet recovered from Jeffrey’s body 2 days after the shooting- there was none.
“Jeffrey running away when shot”
The first witness at the inquest came back for cross-examination. Forensic pathologist Dr. Parai’s testimony was consistent with Dr. Rizoli as to the cause of death- i.e. “lack of oxygen to the brain.”
Dr. Parai explained that the different paths of the bullet wounds inside Jeffrey’s body indicated that both Jeffrey and Belanger were moving, and “Jeffrey was running away when shot.”
“Other options should have been done to test for fingerprint”
The fingerprint expert’s role in the Reodica case was to “make sure everything was attended to, but was not directly involved in the gathering of evidence.”
Richard Bunting worked with the Toronto Police Services Forensic Identification Services for 20 years gathering fingerprints in crime scenes until he retired in 2005. He said only “10% out of 4% on fingerprints is identifiable on knives” (much smaller in guns). Fingerprints “have a lifespan even after 30 years, unless they are removed by an outside influence… cold hands; the rougher the surface of the knife makes it more difficult; packaging; mishandling; humidity, and temperature can affect the detection of fingerprints,’ he added.
Mishandling could have compromised the integrity of the knife found at the scene since the SIU investigator packed it in plastic, then wrapped it in paper bag on another occasion.
“The best practice is to put the knife in a box or placed in clear tubes… glove prints can also be detected on a knife surface, but wasn’t done. When you cannot detect fingerprints, further testing is required and other options should be considered. This should have been done,” he said.
Community Relations Officer Constable Doug Ord
In 16 years as Liaison Officer, Toronto Police Constable Doug Ord has built extensive positive community relations with the Asian communities. Well known specially in the Filipino community, he admitted “courses on multiculturalism and diversity” and personal charm helped in his work but he had no specialized training on the Filipino community in particular. His fruitful involvement is capped by a trip to the Philippines a few years back, certificates of appreciation from various Filipino organizations, and membership as Commander in the distinguished international brotherhood of Knights of Rizal.
He described Filipinos as “well-educated, well-spoken in English, found all over the world,” but when asked where Filipinos are settled locally he said, “mostly in St. Jamestown and Bathurst.”
Queried on any backlash from Jeffrey’s shooting, he responded, “yes they are not the same, I have not been trusted, not invited to a lot of events.” This could be a reflection of the regular perception of police in the home country, he said. “They think of police as murderers… we have to change this, it’s a very cultural thing… Along with the Filipino penchant for protests like what they do in the Philippines, here it affects funding of organizations. Mainstream funders are looking at it…some of the problems are left for the courts to unravel,” he added.
Soon to retire, Constable Ord’s advice to his successor is “to continue outreach work with the Filipino community.”
Impact on Filipino community
The Jeffrey shooting has had the most impact on the Filipino and Asian communities the most, according to Nora Angeles, resource witness on the “impact of racism and youth violence” for the Canadian Alliance on Social Justice.
With extensive involvement in anti-racism and anti-oppression work, Angeles urged governments and schools to be more involved on anti-racism initiatives “to continue earning the trust from the community to these institutions”.
After each traumatic event against the Filipino community, the politicalization or awareness increases up a notch and more of us get mobilized and involved with social justice issues, she said. This was true with the Scarborough Town Centre incident, and now with the Jeffrey shooting, she added.
Finally, the Verdict of the Coroner’s Jury
Cause of death – Gunshot wound to upper back with penetrating injury to spinomedullary junction
By what means – HOMICIDE
JURY RECOMMENDATIONS
(These recommendations are not necessarily in order of priority.)
The Toronto police Service should study and determine whether outfitting unmarked police services with sirens, and/or “cherries”, and/or Public Address System and/or “Police” jackets, and/or “Police” armbands would be useful, cost effective and practical means to enhance identification of plain clothes officers, when required. The item(s) should be installed in such a way as to keep the undercover officers safe, secure and subversive.
Rationale: Testimony has shown that there was great controversy surrounding the attending officers identifying themselves.
The Toronto Police Services should require all plain clothes officers when responding to calls for service, now taking the role of “uniform officers” to take with them, by whatever means possible, all use of force options when exiting their vehicles.
Rationale: When the plain clothes officers respond to a call for service, if they have all of their use of force options on them, it will give the officers greater flexibility in their choice of options to accomplish the task at hand.
Parents or guardians of youths, who are being detained for the purpose of an interview by the police and/or SIU, should be notified as soon as practicable.
Rationale: Testimony has shown that most of the youths, aged 12 to 16 years, were detained by the police to be interviewed by the SIU. Some youths were at the police station for over 8 hours (approximately from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.) feeling tired, scared and hungry. As a result of this, it could have affected their statements.
Parents or guardians should be notified where the youths are and why they are being detained.
Community Liaison Officers should continue their practice of building up relationships and establishing trusts between themselves and the communities.
Rationale: This established relationship/trusts should encourage the community to approach the police for help. The communities will work with the police in resolving problems/conflicts occurring within the community before they escalate.
All maps and charts produced for the benefit of the participants of a coroner’s inquest should be such that their scale measurements are reliable, accurate and precise.
Rationale: The graphics in the exhibits were not to scale, therefore, witnesses were confused and their testimony may have been affected. It also caused some confusion for the jury.
The 911 transcripts should provide the precise time of the calls made when introduced at a coroner’s inquest.
Rationale: It was extremely confusing for the jury and some of the participants for not having the “precise time of calls” on the 911 transcripts.
The Ontario Police College should reinstate control training in their curriculum with regards to the expandable baton.
Rationale: It has been mandated that all police officers must be issued, amongst other items expandable batons and as such they should have the required training to understand when and how to use it, along with the striking option.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
REODICA INQUEST HEARS OF EVIDENCE TAMPERING
Published in BALITA of 16 September 2006 on page 4
By: Marlene Mogado
After 2 months of summer recess, the Coroner’s inquest on the shooting death of 17-year old Jeffrey Reodica resumed on September 11. BALITA was there to continue with its coverage. We have been reporting on witness accounts since the inquest started on May 8 and hope to stay with it until its scheduled end on October 13.
The inquest has heard that plainclothes Constable Dan Belanger shot Jeffrey three times in the back on May 21, 2004. He succumbed to his wounds three days later.
Why he was shot remains to be the point in question. The two attending Police Officers claimed Jeffrey swung at Belanger with a knife. All the other witnesses said they did not see any knife. One witness testified that Jeffrey owned a knife similar to the one found at the scene. On cross-examination of Belanger’s partner, Detective Constable Allen Love, it was revealed he also kept a similar knife that he sometimes brought with him to work. The knife evidence however did not have any fingerprints on it.
In spite of conflicting testimonies and doubts about the knife, the Special Investigation Unit sided with the Police. They exonerated Belanger of any wrongdoing, saying he acted in self-defence.
The Filipino community reacted with outrage. Under the leadership of the Community Alliance for Social Justice, they mobilized and protested the blatant abuse of police powers and the apparent racism in the justice system, particularly in the handling of this Jeffrey case.
Eventually and bucking tradition, the Attorney General’s Office granted an inquest on the case. In addition, CASJ was allowed intervenor standing, with two lawyers representing them in the proceedings.
Knife on the grass
We now pick up from the September 11 witnesses. The first officers to respond after the shooting arrived simultaneously in 2 marked cars. Constable John Cilia arrived less than 2 minutes from receiving a radio call. Constables Alex Ruttner and Rob Clauson got to the scene from 41 Division in 7 minutes. All three officers observed a black-handled knife beside Jeffrey who was lying on his back with Constable Love applying CPR on him. They said although blood was observed around the area they didn’t see any blood on the knife.
Tampering with the knife…
Paramedics soon arrived. David Pattison, with 29 years service, was at the time a Primary Care Paramedic. Getting there with his partner Jeremiah Canon and following normal protocol, Pattison scanned the surroundings. He noticed the knife close to the side of Jeffrey. As he needed to place his carrying board where the knife was, and concerned that officers may step on it, he lifted the knife and placed it 2-3 feet away.
It was at that time that Constable Ruttner told him to put the knife down. Ruttner then ordered his partner to get something to protect the knife. Constable Clauson got a Rubbermaid cover from the car and placed it on top of the knife.
Mystery of the Rubbermaid lid…
Both Ruttner and Clauson said they saw the Rubbermaid lid over the knife when they left to join Jeffrey in the emergency run to Sunnybrook Hospital. The officer assigned to secure the crime scene however tells a different story. Constable Cilia, on guard for 7 hours, didn’t see the lid anywhere at anytime. The 3 paramedics who attended to Jeffrey said they didn’t see the lid either.
Photos taken 3 hours after the shooting and presented at the inquest show the plastic lid a few feet away from the knife. To Barry Swadron, lawyer for the Reodica family, the most important evidence had been tampered with yet again.
Paramedic Canon who was left behind to retrieve emergency equipment when Jeffrey was rushed to the hospital said he did not see the plastic lid the whole time he was there until he left.
“Bloody knife”
In his SIU interview Paramedic Pattison testified the knife he saw was covered with blood. On cross-examination, he slightly changed it to a “smear of blood.”
“I couldn’t have been mistaken, it was colored ‘red’”, Pattison said. “I looked at the knife several times,” and in his years of being paramedic and having attended thousands of bloody incidents he insisted, “I know when it is blood; I’m not a stranger to the sight of blood; I had an excellent view of the knife as I picked it up.”
When he found out it could be a potential SIU case, he said he took a good look at the knife and the blood on it, deliberately about 2-3 times. When showed the knife kept by SIU as evidence, he said, “I can’t see the blood I saw on it before.”
SIU found knife with no fingerprints…
The knife recovered by SIU at the scene had no fingerprints, and no blood on it. Pattison asked the officers if they shot Jeffrey and someone responded, “Yes we did.” He did not pay particular attention on who responded but he also added that among the officers “no one said Jeffrey attempted to stab an officer.”
Paramedics thought undercover cop was civilian...
To the paramedics who saw Love doing chest compressions they did not think he was a plainclothes officer. “Hard to tell at the time as there were no tapes around the scene and they were in civilian clothes. I did not see any badge either.” Pattison said.
An Advance Care Paramedic, Mr. Christidis, who arrived later, assumed that Love was an undercover officer because “the place was secured with tapes so only police is allowed within.”
Possible tampering with Jeffrey’s belongings …
As SIU had taken over the case, control of evidence fell directly with its investigator. At the hospital despite the presence of an SIU investigator there, Jeffrey’s personal belongings were handed over to Ruttner by different people- by a nurse, another police officer, and a fireman. These were kept by Police at 41 Division, and then given to an SIU investigator, who passed them finally to Joe Berney, the SIU lead forensic investigator.
In spite of his 12 years experience as a cop, under cross-examination Ruttner admitted he was not aware that evidence should be handed directly to SIU and not to a Police Officer since this was a case of police shooting.
The mishandling of Jeffrey’s belongings unnecessarily making its way into police hands against police practice raised yet again another instance of evidence tampering, according to Swadron.
To the SIU and the Coroner, Jeffrey’s case appeared to be cut and dried. Given the extraneous circumstances coming out in the inquest, the spectre of miscarriage of justice is becoming evident at every turn. First, SIU’s quick exoneration of Belanger is now best described as “lutung makao’ in our native lingo.
Second, the Coroner’s apparent favorable accommodation of the police team, and on the flip side her hostile attitude against Jeffrey’s team is generating fireworks, therefore a hot serving for the gallery that’s better than reality soap television. No wonder the Ontario Ombudsman is keeping an eye on the proceedings, looking to follow up on the whole affair when it ends.
Come to the inquest to support the Reodicas and our community’s lawyers. It is held at Coroner’s Court at 15 Grosvenor St., north of College between Yonge and Bay from 9:30 to 4:30 weekdays. The public can come in and leave at anytime during the proceedings.
By: Marlene Mogado
After 2 months of summer recess, the Coroner’s inquest on the shooting death of 17-year old Jeffrey Reodica resumed on September 11. BALITA was there to continue with its coverage. We have been reporting on witness accounts since the inquest started on May 8 and hope to stay with it until its scheduled end on October 13.
The inquest has heard that plainclothes Constable Dan Belanger shot Jeffrey three times in the back on May 21, 2004. He succumbed to his wounds three days later.
Why he was shot remains to be the point in question. The two attending Police Officers claimed Jeffrey swung at Belanger with a knife. All the other witnesses said they did not see any knife. One witness testified that Jeffrey owned a knife similar to the one found at the scene. On cross-examination of Belanger’s partner, Detective Constable Allen Love, it was revealed he also kept a similar knife that he sometimes brought with him to work. The knife evidence however did not have any fingerprints on it.
In spite of conflicting testimonies and doubts about the knife, the Special Investigation Unit sided with the Police. They exonerated Belanger of any wrongdoing, saying he acted in self-defence.
The Filipino community reacted with outrage. Under the leadership of the Community Alliance for Social Justice, they mobilized and protested the blatant abuse of police powers and the apparent racism in the justice system, particularly in the handling of this Jeffrey case.
Eventually and bucking tradition, the Attorney General’s Office granted an inquest on the case. In addition, CASJ was allowed intervenor standing, with two lawyers representing them in the proceedings.
Knife on the grass
We now pick up from the September 11 witnesses. The first officers to respond after the shooting arrived simultaneously in 2 marked cars. Constable John Cilia arrived less than 2 minutes from receiving a radio call. Constables Alex Ruttner and Rob Clauson got to the scene from 41 Division in 7 minutes. All three officers observed a black-handled knife beside Jeffrey who was lying on his back with Constable Love applying CPR on him. They said although blood was observed around the area they didn’t see any blood on the knife.
Tampering with the knife…
Paramedics soon arrived. David Pattison, with 29 years service, was at the time a Primary Care Paramedic. Getting there with his partner Jeremiah Canon and following normal protocol, Pattison scanned the surroundings. He noticed the knife close to the side of Jeffrey. As he needed to place his carrying board where the knife was, and concerned that officers may step on it, he lifted the knife and placed it 2-3 feet away.
It was at that time that Constable Ruttner told him to put the knife down. Ruttner then ordered his partner to get something to protect the knife. Constable Clauson got a Rubbermaid cover from the car and placed it on top of the knife.
Mystery of the Rubbermaid lid…
Both Ruttner and Clauson said they saw the Rubbermaid lid over the knife when they left to join Jeffrey in the emergency run to Sunnybrook Hospital. The officer assigned to secure the crime scene however tells a different story. Constable Cilia, on guard for 7 hours, didn’t see the lid anywhere at anytime. The 3 paramedics who attended to Jeffrey said they didn’t see the lid either.
Photos taken 3 hours after the shooting and presented at the inquest show the plastic lid a few feet away from the knife. To Barry Swadron, lawyer for the Reodica family, the most important evidence had been tampered with yet again.
Paramedic Canon who was left behind to retrieve emergency equipment when Jeffrey was rushed to the hospital said he did not see the plastic lid the whole time he was there until he left.
“Bloody knife”
In his SIU interview Paramedic Pattison testified the knife he saw was covered with blood. On cross-examination, he slightly changed it to a “smear of blood.”
“I couldn’t have been mistaken, it was colored ‘red’”, Pattison said. “I looked at the knife several times,” and in his years of being paramedic and having attended thousands of bloody incidents he insisted, “I know when it is blood; I’m not a stranger to the sight of blood; I had an excellent view of the knife as I picked it up.”
When he found out it could be a potential SIU case, he said he took a good look at the knife and the blood on it, deliberately about 2-3 times. When showed the knife kept by SIU as evidence, he said, “I can’t see the blood I saw on it before.”
SIU found knife with no fingerprints…
The knife recovered by SIU at the scene had no fingerprints, and no blood on it. Pattison asked the officers if they shot Jeffrey and someone responded, “Yes we did.” He did not pay particular attention on who responded but he also added that among the officers “no one said Jeffrey attempted to stab an officer.”
Paramedics thought undercover cop was civilian...
To the paramedics who saw Love doing chest compressions they did not think he was a plainclothes officer. “Hard to tell at the time as there were no tapes around the scene and they were in civilian clothes. I did not see any badge either.” Pattison said.
An Advance Care Paramedic, Mr. Christidis, who arrived later, assumed that Love was an undercover officer because “the place was secured with tapes so only police is allowed within.”
Possible tampering with Jeffrey’s belongings …
As SIU had taken over the case, control of evidence fell directly with its investigator. At the hospital despite the presence of an SIU investigator there, Jeffrey’s personal belongings were handed over to Ruttner by different people- by a nurse, another police officer, and a fireman. These were kept by Police at 41 Division, and then given to an SIU investigator, who passed them finally to Joe Berney, the SIU lead forensic investigator.
In spite of his 12 years experience as a cop, under cross-examination Ruttner admitted he was not aware that evidence should be handed directly to SIU and not to a Police Officer since this was a case of police shooting.
The mishandling of Jeffrey’s belongings unnecessarily making its way into police hands against police practice raised yet again another instance of evidence tampering, according to Swadron.
To the SIU and the Coroner, Jeffrey’s case appeared to be cut and dried. Given the extraneous circumstances coming out in the inquest, the spectre of miscarriage of justice is becoming evident at every turn. First, SIU’s quick exoneration of Belanger is now best described as “lutung makao’ in our native lingo.
Second, the Coroner’s apparent favorable accommodation of the police team, and on the flip side her hostile attitude against Jeffrey’s team is generating fireworks, therefore a hot serving for the gallery that’s better than reality soap television. No wonder the Ontario Ombudsman is keeping an eye on the proceedings, looking to follow up on the whole affair when it ends.
Come to the inquest to support the Reodicas and our community’s lawyers. It is held at Coroner’s Court at 15 Grosvenor St., north of College between Yonge and Bay from 9:30 to 4:30 weekdays. The public can come in and leave at anytime during the proceedings.
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