Investigators Reviewing Inquest Transcripts

Tuesday, February 27, 2007 01:28 PM

The Prince George Chief Crown Prosecutor, Oleh Kuzma says nothing has changed in the Crown's position with regard to the shooting death of Kevin St Arnaud and the testimony to come out of a Coroner's inquest in Vanderhoof.

Kuzma says, “Nothing has been given to us to change our position with regard to the death of Kevin St. Arnaud." St. Arnaud was shot to death by Constable Ryan Sheremetta in Vanderhoof in December of 2004.

At the Coroner's inquest which wrapped up in mid January, witnesses testified they had seen St. Arnaud turn towards police with his hands in the air and that he was "shuffling" back to the officer. One of the witnesses was Sheremetta's partner.

RCMP Staff Sargeant John Ward says the transcripts of the inquest were received by investigators today,"The inconsistencies in testimony are not unusual" says Ward "I can tell you that if you ask five people about the same event, you can expect five different versions." Ward says the investigators were fully aware of those inconsistencies because they were evident during the initial investigation. He did say the transcripts will be reviewed to see if the testimony matched with the initial statements given to police, but that doesn't mean there will be a full review to consider possible charges.

Forensic evidence presented at the Coroner's inquest raised questions about Constable Sheremetta's testimony that Kevin St. Arnaud was "on top of him" when he fired three shots into St. Arnaud's chest. Forensic evidence presented at the inquest indicated the bullets entered Kevin's body at a 30-45 degree angle entering in the upper chest, and exiting just above his tail bone. Ward says the forensic evidence was not "inconsistent" with Sheremetta's version of events, rather that the Coroner simply didn't allow all the evidence to be presented.

This week Global TV began a series on the death of St Arnaund. CBC National is also continuing to pursue the story along with Gary Mason of the Globe and Mail. Mason has already written five columns on the story.

Previous Story - Next Story

Email |

Print |

Facebook |

Twitter |

Digg |

Del.icio.us

Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 01:28 PM in News by 250 News

Return to Home

Comments

Posted by: thereasonableman on February 27 2007 3:05 PM

Whitewash.

Posted by: thereasonableman on February 27 2007 3:46 PM

�Nothing has been given to us to change our position with regard to the death of Kevin St. Arnaud."

Translation to plain english:

The police have not forwarded on any new information, updates, or additional investigation. They still leave me with only a skeleton of a file that has nothing substantial within it whatsoever. I cannot approve charges in this case due to the fact that the file they gave me contains nothing of substance whatsoever, and they probably proofread it twenty times to make sure of that before they passed it on to Crown Counsel.

Crown Counsel relies on the police to perform a complete and thorough investigation, and report fully and factually what was discovered in that investigation. Thus, the police control the charge approval process by way of their investigation and reporting. If they wish to "throw the game" then they provide a Report to Crown Counsel that a third grader would be ashamed to sign their name to. You can't approve charges on a zero case.

On the other side of the coin, if there is someone you would dearly love to see go down, (like Provincial Court Judge David Ramsey - hated by the police, called a social worker and worse for his perceived "light treatment" on offenders) then you not only do a complete and thorough investigation and report, but you also perform creative interrogation and interviewing. If people are not saying what you need them to say, you gently lead them to say what you need to hear. Suggestive questioning, same thing. You firstly get them to the point of saying the kind of things you need to hear, then you cement it in their head over and over again until they themselves not only believe it but swear by it.

I can have you testify in court, all the details I need you to say, about something you never actually saw or heard. And you will believe it with all your heart. And you will believe you are doing the right thing.

By the same token, if I investigated the aforementioned case, Crown Counsel would receive a file that could choke a hippopotamus. There would be left no questions, no doubt, only factual, substantial information to base a charge approval decision on, instead of a file that already dictates your charge approval decision.

I still uphold the right, but these days I do it from behind a white t-shirt and denim jacket, because I found you just couldn't from behind black and yellow pants.

Posted by: snappi on February 28 2007 11:39 AM

Good God! Is Shermetta's partner not trained to be observant? She didn't lie, even to protect a fellow officer, so why is he not being made accountable for killing another human being? Not to mention there was also a civilian witness. What do the officials need to prove to them that this man died unnecessarily. His life was taken by and RCMP officer who it seems lied to cover his own butt. It makes me sick.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on February 28 2007 12:51 PM

This cops partner is a good cop and she has been doing it for quite a number of years now.Trust me,she did not lie.And if she did,would it not make more sense to lie in favor of the other cop instead of against his testimony? She is well aware of how much heat this will put on her by those who think she should shut up, within the RCMP.Sorry,but this one stinks big time and must not be allowed to fade away.This kind of snow job is exactly why support for the RCMP is declining rapidly.So where are our illustrious politicians on this?

Posted by: snappi on February 28 2007 9:00 PM

I hear you Andy, it stinks big time. And this poor officer is definately going to pay the price as allot of the members will consider her a rat I'm sure. All I can say is good for her, she should be commended for her honesty. I wish her the best of luck.

Posted by: heidi1555 on February 28 2007 11:38 PM

I wish her the best of luck also and I have a huge respect for her. Wish she'd move to Prince George...there is a house for sale on the other side of my block. Actually all the people who told the truth about that night I love ya all.

Posted by: thereasonableman on March 1 2007 2:25 PM

You have no idea the torment and turmoil that she will now face as a result of being truthful. In a perfect world, she would be an excellent candidate to be promoted to the top ranks and take control of this runaway train. The sad truth of the matter, however, is that she will likely be run out of the force through peer pressure and harrassment.