Don Lewis Inquest Takes Twist

By 250 News

Williams Lake, B.C. -   The lawyer representing the Donald Lewis family has successfully sought and received an order from Coroner Shane DeMeyer that will prevent those who will be testifying at this inquest from sitting in on the proceedings as they wait their turn to testify.

Cameron Ward told the Coroner that the police had carefully put together a history of Lewis who was shot to death by Constable Cole Brewer near McLeese Lake on August 13^th, 2006.  Brewer says the shooting happened following what he describes as a violent struggle at a campsite at the end of the runaway on Beaver Rd.

DeMeyer granted the request after Ward said the very basis of law calls for the exclusion of witnesses who are testifying and he said it is important where you have police investigating police that this take place.

In May of this year Ward had asked that the inquest be quashed on the basis that the Coroner's Service is run by Ex-RCMP Officers. Ward says both the Chief Coroner and the Deputy Coroner are ex RCMP Members and that in itself should be reason to believe that the families will not receive a fair hearing. DeMeyer disagreed saying that he himself is not an ex-RCMP member.

At the same time, Ward had sought to get funding for the legal costs for representing the family at the Coroner's inquests in the province.

Ward says while the RCMP are provided with every funding request they have, in order to hold a fair hearing  legal Counsel should be available for the families. That request was turned down by the Coroner.

In the opening day of the inquest a video, taken 72 hours after the shooting, was played  for the jury. Ward asked that it be excluded saying that there is no availability for cross examination. Coroner DeMeyer agreed and has asked the jury not to place anything they see in the tape as evidence.

On the tape, Constable Cole Brewer, who had been on the force for about 1 year at the time of the shooting,  tells of how he came to the McLeese Lake area after receiving a complaint from a local woman that a man may be camping on the runaway Rd. She said she had fears for her safety.

Brewer discovered a motorcycle at the scene and on checking the expired license number, found the bike was owned by a Sarah Penny of Whistler. He then told of how he approached the one man tent and heard a man snoring inside; when he woke up Lewis he asked him who owned the motorcycle. He said at that point Lewis gave him the wrong name and shortly after jumped up and fled into the bush. He was pursued by Brewer who tackled him and then a fight ensued. Brewer said he struck Lewis several times, used his baton on him and also tried to use his pepper spray but to no avail. Lewis  made a second run for it at which point the fight, says Brewer, really heated up and Lewis said I’m going to Kill you, “you F----r."

It was during this fight that Brewer says Lewis tried to grapple his service revolver away from him. "I was able to hit him on the head with the gun butt."  

One shot was fired and Brewer said he then handcuffed Lewis to a tree and went looking for help. "He was still alive when I left him" the constable said; when he and several other officers returned to the scene they found Lewis without a pulse, still handcuffed to the tree.

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