Don Lewis Death, Do Inquests Serve A Purpose?

Thursday, June 12, 2008 03:46 AM

Part 4.

Does a Coroner’s Inquest serve a purpose?

Let’s look back over the past two years.

There was the shooting in Vanderhoof of Kevin St Arnaud. When the dust had settled in that shooting we had learned that this young man was not, as had been portrayed, a drug addict and drunk. To the contrary, and while the circumstances leading up to his death do not sit well, the inquest did bring a number of points home.

That inquest, to the credit of Cameron Ward who represented the family, if it did nothing more it, was able to have police investigate Const Ryan Sharamatta in relation to his testimony with his seizing of firearms. He is being investigated on possible perjury charges, and that would put a whole new spin on the shooting if he is charged and convicted. But he is entitled to the rule of law until such time as he is found guilty.

The Coroner’s inquest also gave the community an opportunity to hear the details surrounding the death of Ian Bush shot in the back of the head by RCMP officer Const Paul Koester. Again information that was brought forward gave a very clear picture of what took place in that police station. The constable in question was able to give his side of the story. Unfortunately Ian Bush will not be able to give his.

In the matter of Don Lewis, it is sad tale of a man who as I saw it, first got grabbed up by the law for tax evasion in the USA and from there his life went downhill. Well not exactly, according to his wife Sara, they never could really live together with a former husband doing his level best to ensure that Lewis never set a permanent step in Canada. So their relationship was one of trying to get together wherever possible with Lewis constantly on the run from the border patrol. That running finally cost him his life and in this instance it is my belief that a young constable Cole Brewer acted in the best means he knew how.

Sara Lewis couldn’t move to the US, her children would never be allowed to immigrate by an ex-husband who constantly haunted her. It was testament of how one bad move in 1995 cost Lewis not only his opportunity to be with the woman that he loved, but his life. He was “the fugitive”. It caught up to him.

This inquest, like the others before, will end with a jury making some recommendations. What we need is some sort of watch dog to ensure the recommendations are followed.

Is there room for Coroner’s inquests in our society? Most assuredly, but they will require some changes if we are to do as we say in our society and give everyone equal opportunity.

I’m Meisner and that’s one Man’s opinion.

This is the fourth in a four part series about the inquest into the police shooting death of Don Lewis. In part one, Meisner looked at the credibility of the Constable's version of events. In part two, he talked about police investigating police. In Part 3 he looked at the imbalance of justice as the RCMP have top notch lawyers and all expenses paid, but the family of the victim is on its own.

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Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2008 03:46 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: pisspulper on June 12 2008 8:21 AM

Sorry Ben, again I have to award a "thumbs down for this article also. You failed to justify any benefit of an inquest or whether they are flawed in serving their purpose. But you did manage on numerous instances manage to refer to the labels many seem to have affixed to these young men. Perhaps they weren't the perfect role models of society, then again who is.

There is always a story behind everyones life, whether it be morally perfect or not. A persons past is not supposed to be part of the inquest, it is the manner of death and why it happened. Those accusations of a persons background is mere slandering, unless it ascertains that the police had prior knowledge that ones particular background included a history of violence, especially in regards to their propensity to use or own weapons.

The fact that the deceased is not part of the inquest relies on the testimony of one other indivivual to portray the sequence of events. And we are all certain that any embellishment would never take place? Doesn't this then become a story telling venue to appease the public?

As for the recommendations. All common sense items, perhaps favouring the notion that these shootings should have never taken place at all. If training and common sense had prevailed, an inquest wouldn't have been necessary.

Police shootings(taserings) are becoming more and more prevalent, so the inquests have in part had little impact to impart better training or procedural review.

I am not anti-police, and can appreciate what officers deal with. It is my belief that that none of the 3 men mentioned in this article should be deceased, an inquest didn't save them after the first shooting. So I will still claim that inquests are merely a charade, nothing more. How many more inquests are necessary to stop one unnecessary shooting?

Most of the regular 250 readers are quite knowledgable of these incidences and their details. Many of whom have the belief that these men deserved what they got. That opinion is your right. Don Lewis's case IMO, is the only one that seems to be a justifiable shooting, if in fact Cst. Brewer's portayal is accurate. He didn't have much choice and appears that proper procedure and protocols were followed to the extent allowed by the scenario. There are extrenous arguments for all these incidents.

Is there room for an inquest in society? Sure, if the inquest were to find fault and lay blame, it would be accountable. But not without the deceased to offer his/her rendition. The end result is an opus the deter criminal liability if warranted. How long exactly does it take to try someone on charges of perjury?

Posted by: squirrel on June 12 2008 8:35 AM

Ben, while I appreciate you attempts to be neutral on some of these issues, and not want to tread on a dead man's grave, spare me the poetic license.
"In the matter of Don Lewis, it is sad tale of a man who as I saw it, first got grabbed up by the law for tax evasion in the USA "
The same article where you initially wrote about this "tax evasion", you also mentioned a couple of other charges, "4th degree assault, and resisting arrest."
Do we really believe that people are being denied entry into Canada for not paying their taxes? And Canada Border Services is tapped into IRS records?
I am curious about the resisting arrest charge? I wonder if that was a citizens arrest?
Once again I say this. I feel sorry for his wife, his mother, and his children, but not so much him. He didn't have to die over this incident, but there are a lot of things he didn't have to do, but he did.

Posted by: tinyapplecork on June 12 2008 4:05 PM

Inquests need to be balanced and accountable. Having more lawyers for one side than the other leaves gaps for equitable fact finding. That needs to change. An inquest imo should be publicly funded by both sides with impartial lawyers representing either side. There also needs to be a tool to ensure that recommendations by the jury are implemented.
It is imo, ridiculous that it takes upwards of two years to get to an inquest in the first place. Shameful.

Posted by: pisspulper on June 13 2008 7:13 AM

All right then, lets try this in more simplistic terms. This is not a criminal trial, nobody goes to the brickhouse, gets an electonic bracelet, let alone a slap on the wrist. There is no need for lawyers as noone is being prosecuted, maybe persecuted. Having lawyers at the taxpayers expense solves no purpose during this charade. If the coroner can't maintain order in these proceedings ,then we need to situate a judge in his place, with the coroner as an interpreter if you will.

I'll use Cst. Brewer as an example, bear in mind I am not accusing him of anything. Cst. Brewer has issues with the line of questioning, without a lawyer to assist him, the onus becomes his own to prove that he is either competent in manifesting an answer or opinion, or will faulter like a deer caught in headlights. This ascertains his ability to deal with duress, without the assistance or intrusion of a lawyer to bail him out. Or perhaps not knowing whether to embellish or not will catch him in the act of perjury.

If a police officer cannot deal with an assault on his person during an inquest, we should be weary of his ability to carry a leathal weapon.