The Hamilton Spectator
CALEDONIA (Sep 15, 2007)
It was a fight that had terrible consequences.
Duane Davies says he was with his Uncle Sam Gualtieri when the Caledonia builder was injured in a clash with native protesters Thursday.
In an interview, Davies said he, Gualtieri and two others were checking on the home when they saw a protester standing on the front porch.
“They started to heckle us, saying, ‘If you want a piece of this, come in here,'” said Davies.
The four went into the home and Gualtieri ordered the protesters out. Davies says he didn’t see who threw the first punch, but described Gualtieri struggling with one person while the others squared off.
The 33-year-old said he and a cousin left the house to grab two-by-fours and started back in to discover Gualtieri lying on the floor as he was struck with a piece of wood. Davies said he screamed to natives outside the house for help and the attackers fled.
Native protesters tell a different story. They say the builder and his companions entered the house and attacked them.
They say the protesters were only defending themselves.
Whichever way it went, Gualtieri’s family vows it won’t rest until the people responsible are brought to justice.
Gualtieri, 52, was beaten unconscious inside one of two homes he was building for his daughters in the Stirling South subdivision.
“This was a brutal, brutal attack,” said brother Joe Gualtieri. “Our family will not let this go.”
Sam was transferred to Hamilton General Hospital yesterday afternoon where he remains semi-conscious in serious condition.
JeffParkinson.ca 