Fantino trying to bully shooting victims families

UPDATE: With over 2000 unique views and climbing, my thanks to all who have taken the time to read this story. Perhaps if we get the word out to enough people, greedy Mr. Fantino & the OPPA will finally leave these families in peace.

 

November 11, 2010

By Jeff Parkinson – www.JeffParkinson.ca 

 

Months after his reign as OPP commissioner ended, Julian Fantino is still trying to bully innocent victims into silence. The man Stephen Harper is said to have hand picked to run as the Federal Conservative candidate for Vaughan is trying to force the families of 2 disabled men who were shot and killed by police to pay him $17500.

 

The people Fantino wants cash from include 83 year old Evelyn Minty whose disabled son Douglas was shot dead outside her Elmvale home on June 22, 2009 and Ruth Schaeffer whose son Levi suffered from Schizophrenia and was shot through the heart at his private camp site in Northern Ontario by OPP officers on June 24, 2009.

 

The lawyer for the Minty and Schaeffer families, Julian Falconer calls the move to seek costs police intimidation which it certainly appears to be, and stated to the court “because the families have asked for police accountability, they will now be punished.”

 

One need look no further than Caledonia to see that Fantino & the OPPA will not hesitate to use intimidation tactics to silence innocent people who dare try to hold them accountable.

 

It’s heartening however to see that the elderly mothers of both victims are standing firm in their belief that this was a case that needed to be heard despite the obvious effort by the OPPA & Fantino to silence them.

 

Levi Schaeffer

As this story has been ongoing since June of 2009, there are a substantial number of news stories about it to be found. To try to cover everything that’s happened in this case would be a dictionary sized editorial, so please see the links at the end of this post for further reading of my sources about what has become a very complex battle.

 

The officers involved did not complete their notes on the Schaeffer shooting (on which the SIU investigation was based) until after speaking with a lawyer which became the basis of a heated battle between the SIU and Julian Fantino, and a court case brought by the families seeking to end the practice of having officers notes vetted by their lawyer before an investigation.



In a September 28 2009 press release about the Schaeffer case that is now conspicuously missing from the seemingly thorough SUI website, SIU director Ian Scott said the note taking practices of the officers prevented the SIU from doing a full and fair investigation and determining what happened.

Before issuing the press release, Scott wrote to then commissioner Fantino saying “This note writing process flies in the face of the two main indicators of reliability of notes: independence and contemporaneity,” “In this most serious case, I have no informational base I can rely upon.”

Perhaps Mr. Scott thought that bringing a serious problem to the attention of the commissioner would result in an effort to find a solution, but that’s not how Julian Fantino responds to constructive criticism. King Julian fired back with some very familiar rhetoric. “If your intent was to inflame an already volatile situation for all concerned, I can now inform you that you have succeeded.”

It’s typical Fantino. Lash out like a big baby at anyone who dares to disagree with him using a very limited and ineffectual series of slogans. Imagine a world in which this guy is the minister of public safety. It could happen in the coming months.

The victim’s families were not successful in their bid to have a judge rule that they must write their notes on the day that they kill or wound someone, so the officers involved in the shootings (via the OPPA) and Fantino are now seeking a combined $92000 from the grieving family members. See the May 5 2010 factum of the case here.

Schaeffer’s mother Ruth said outside the court “The spectre of a $92,000 bill would almost certainly stop anybody from questioning any public officer,” “But I firmly believe in the issue at hand.” While 83 year old Evelyn Minty stated “It’s an exorbitant sum,” “But I want justice for my son. I really do.”

Mr. Fantino made $250,000 per year during his reign as commissioner so it’s hard to imagine that the $17,500 he’s trying to get out of these families will substantially impact his financial future, and he will no doubt pull in a hefty salary from your tax dollars should he be elected in Vaughan on November 29th.

They may not have found justice for their dead sons but these folks should be proud of the attention they were able to bring to the case, the fact that police officers are not required to file their reports on killing someone until a lawyer has approved them, and the continued inane posturing of Julian Fantino.

Jeff@CaledoniaWakeupCall.com

Suggested reading

Toronto Star – Police seek cash from victims families

Toronto Star – Residents reel as police kill local favorite

Now Magazine – Fantino firing up

Justice For Levi website
Special Investigations Unit official website press releases for 2009
Toronto Star – Families push for changes to SIU rules
The Peterborough Examiner – Union blasts SIU finding
The Toronto Star – SIU missed key questions after man shot 5 times
CBC News – SIU calls OPP, Fantino conduct illegal
Toronto Star – Police notes questioned after man fatally shot
JulianFantino.ca – Fantino’s new conservative website
The Toronto Star – SIU and Julian Fantino duke it out
The Toronto Star – Are these cops above the law?
Down With McGuinty blog – a highly entertaining blog about McGuinty & Fantino
Sootoday.com – Police association slams special investigations director

Cbc.ca – May 5 2010 factum in the case of the families vs the police