And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (S.I.S.I.S.) writes:
1. Ippewash lawsuit: Premier will testify
2. Cops let off the hook for beating Cecil Bernard George
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HARRIS, CABINET MINISTERS TO TESTIFY ABOUT IPPERWASH SHOOTING
Canadian Press, March 13, 1999 by James McCarten
[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
It is provided for reference only.]
TORONTO (CP) - Ontario Premier Mike Harris will be forced to testify in
December about his role in a 1995 conflict that led to the shooting death
of native protester Dudley George.
Harris, Attorney General Charles Harnick and Solicitor General Bob
Runciman were all summoned to an examination for discovery Friday as part
of a civil suit by George's family. [S.I.S.I.S. note: The civil action is
supported by only some members of the family; others who were close to
Dudley have publically distanced themselves from it.]
It will be the first time an Ontario premier has been questioned under
oath in a civil proceeding. Harris is slated to begin his testimony Dec. 8
at a Toronto law firm. Runciman is scheduled to testify Sept. 8 and Harnick
Oct. 6. All three will be asked about the use of force by provincial police
to quell the uprising at Ipperwash Provincial Park in September 1995.
George was shot and killed by acting Sgt. Kenneth Deane on Sept. 6, 1995,
when police confronted natives protesting the alleged desecration of their
ancestors' burial grounds at the park on Lake Huron.
Cecil Bernard George, who is unrelated, suffered a severe beating in the
standoff.
The Tory government in Ontario has refused to hold an inquiry until the
criminal and civil matters surrounding the case are resolved. The civil
suit alleges police were pressed to bypass their usual tactics of
negotiation in favour of sending a paramilitary unit into the park to
confront the protesters.
Activists lobbying for a public inquiry into the shooting have filed
grievances with the United Nations and submitted a legal opinion to Indian
Affairs Minister Jane Stewart. The opinion, drafted by a York University
law professor, argues that Ottawa has the power and the responsibility to
call an inquiry if Ontario refuses to do so.
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POLICE BEAT CHARGES IN IPPERWASH ASSAULT
Windspeaker, March 1999, by Marie Burke
Toronto - The 18-month re-investigation into the severe beating Cecil
Bernard George suffered at the hands of police during his arrest did not
result in any charges being laid against members of the Ontario Provincial
Police. George was one of the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation
protesters involved in the blockade at Ipperwash Provincial Park in 1995.
George was beaten into unconsciousness and suffered 28 visible wounds to
his body apparently inflicted by clubs and by repeatedly being kicked, said
sources.
The Special Investigation Unit determined there were no reasonable
grounds to support accusations that police used excessive force in their
arrest of George. The SIU is a non-police agency that investigates
instances regarding police and civilians where there has been injury or
death that could warrant charges.
"If you defend your rights, we will beat you in the night and you
can't do anything about it," said Murray Klippenstien about what the SIU
decision means to him. Klippenstien is the lawyer who is acting for the
Dudley George family. Dudley George was killed by an OPP officer in a land
claim protest during the same blockade. Klippenstien stated that if SIU
concludes there is no way of finding out which officers inflicted 28 wounds
to George with 30 or more police witnesses, then they are either
incompetent or there is a cover-up of the evidence or both. "It defies
logic that eight or 10 people who are trained observers didn't see
anything. That is a ridiculous result," said Klippenstien. He questioned
the evidence police have available about the arrest of George. "You have to
wonder if the police keep no records. Maybe it's a matter of will rather
than fact," said Klippenstien. The George lawyer speculated that it might
be willful strategic blindness on the part of the police.
In a statement released Feb. 11, Peter Tinsely, the director of the
Special Investigation Unit, reports there was no credible and reliable
evidence to warrant criminal charges against the OPP. Tinsley reports to
the Attorney General.
It is the second time the SIU has looked at the events surrounding the
Ipperwash stand-off between the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation
protesters and the OPP. In 1996, a former director of the SIU recommended a
further investigation into the beating of George. In a 1996 report, it was
established George's injuries were a result of a violent confrontation
where some officers "apparently" used excessive force. The investigation
concluded that no charges could be laid because no one could identify the
OPP officers who struck George.
"Firstly and consistent with the finding in the July 1996 SIU report,
there is no evidence capable of establishing the identities of the officers
alleged to have assaulted Mr. George with the use of excessive force.
Secondly, I have determined that based upon the available evidence, there
are no reasonable grounds to support the conclusion that the police used
excessive force in all of the circumstances of this arrest," said Tinsley
in the statement. The lengthy SIU re-investigation heard statements from
more than 50 police officers as witnesses and more than 20 civilians,
including First Nation people involved in the confrontation at Ipperwash.
The SIU director noted that the evidence established George was struck by
"some" OPP officers during his arrest, but stated officers were engaged in
the execution of their lawful duties to control the aggressive crowd of
protesters.
"The George family thinks it would be an outrage if the books are
closed on the beating of Bernard," said Klippenstien. Klippenstien has
filed a $7 million civil lawsuit against the former OPP commissioner and
the premier of the provincial government on behalf of the George family for
the wrongful death of Dudley George. A great deal of documentation to come
out in the civil trial that the George family is entitled to will shed
light on the beating of Bernard George, he said.
The Ontairo government is refusing to call an public inquiry into the
Ipperwash protest.
The lawyer has finally received hundreds of documents from the OPP on
the Ipperwash incident and is now waiting for the courts to force the
Ontario government to disclose documentation related to the shooting of
Dudley George.
The Ontario government appeared in court on Jan. 26 filing a
counter-attack motion to throw out the civil lawsuit. Klippenstien sees the
motion as another stalling tactic that won't work against the lawsuit. "The
action is not in jeopardy. We will appeal if the decision is granted for
the government. The government is using huge amounts of taxpayers' money to
stall this case," said Klippenstien.
Letters to Windspeaker - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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S.I.S.I.S. note: In Ontario, the NDP and Liberal opposition continue to
press for an inquiry into the 1995 Aazhoodena/Stoney Point (aka Ipperwash)
incident and the Dudley George shooting. By contrast, in BC both the NDP
government and the opposition parties collude in a full-fledged coverup of
the 1995 Gustafsen Lake standoff - the largest joint police and military
operation in Canadian history. Both the federal and provincial governments
have thus far refused to order public inquiries into either incident.
For more information on the Gustafsen standoff and to support the demand
for a public inquiry please visit:
http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/gustmain.html
http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/GustLake/support.html
For more information on the murder of Dudley George and the Aazhoodena
Sovereignty struggle he died for, please visit:
http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Ipperwash/arch01.html
or contact Pierre George: Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ("Remember Dudley
George" Posters are also available)
WE WILL NEVER FORGET DUDLEY GEORGE - WE WILL NEVER FORGET GUSTAFSEN LAKE
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S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
EMAIL : <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html
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