A Manitoba police force put under the microscope after critics said it bungled a high-profile case involving a former police officer has received a clean bill of health in a provincial review.
The review – one of two reviews released Thursday prompted by the case – found only minor problems with the police department in East St. Paul, outside Winnipeg.
The case centred around the death of Crystal Taman, a 40-year-old mother of three, who was killed in February 2005, after her car was rear-ended while she was sitting at a red light.
Former Winnipeg police officer Derek Harvey-Zenk was behind the wheel of the other car. He’d been on his way home in the morning after a night of drinking with friends.
At the scene, Harvey-Zenk refused to submit to a breathalyzer and evidence normally documented about the state of a driver’s sobriety beyond a breathalyzer was absent from police files.
East St. Paul officers later reported that then-chief Harry Bakema ordered them in advance not to refer in their notes to Harvey-Zenk’s drinking following the deadly crash.
That claim has been denied by Bakema through his lawyer. The former chief was fired in 2006 and now works in real estate.
After the investigation, Derek Harvey-Zenk was spared jail time in a heavily criticized plea bargain the victim’s family called a cover-up. Even the judge expressed frustration over the plea bargain and the lack of evidence.
However, the review of the East St. Paul police force, done by the RCMP and the Brandon police department, found the force is providing “a good service.”
Morale is satisfactory, the public has confidence in the force and criminal investigations are generally well-handled. –Winnipeg Free Press
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