Province calls inquiry into ex-cop's conviction in crash

The Manitoba government will hold an inquiry into the circumstances that led to former Winnipeg police officer Derek Harveymordenzenk's conviction for dangerous driving causing death, Premier Gary Doer announced Tuesday.

Doer said the public and the family of crash victim Crystal Taman should have their questions about the prosecution of the case answered.

"It feels a bit like the Tower of Babel. There's so much different interpretation that is going on with respect to the specific case that we think Manitobans deserve a public answering and a public airing of all the facts and issues," Attorney General Dave Chomiak said Tuesday afternoon.

Chomiak said two reviews— one into the operation of the East St. Paul Police Service, and one into the use of external prosecutors — will be completed within 60 days.Then the public inquiry will begin.

While the inquiry won't change the results of the criminal trial, Chomiak said, he hopes it will answer any lingering questions about the case.

Manitoba's law community is buzzing over a conditional sentence handed down Monday to Derek Harveymordenzenk, a former Winnipeg police officer who killedTaman in a car crash on the outskirts of the city in 2005.

A conditional sentence of two years less a day will not require Harveymordenzenk to spend any time in jail.He will have to abide by several conditions, including a curfew, a ban on drugs and alcohol and performing community service.

In handing down the sentence, provincial court Chief Judge Ray Wyant expressed frustration over the evidence presented in the case and with the plea agreement.TheCrown and defence jointly recommendedthe conditional sentence in exchange foraguilty plea to dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

"I sense a clear disconnect between the evidence before this court and therefore what I must sentence on… and what many in the public believe happened," Wyant said in court.

Higher standard for police, court officials?

In the wake of the sentence, former Manitoba deputy attorney general Bruce MacFarlane said federal politicians should change legislation to prevent conditional sentences in cases of dangerous driving causing death.

"In my view, that's a questionable sanction for thattype of offence," he said."That's why we need the law changed. We need all those precedents erased from the blackboard and start with a whole new blackboard."

MacFarlane, who now teaches law at the University of Manitoba, also said police officers should be held to a higher standard than the regular public, something Wyant said he examined while considering whether he would accept the sentencing recommendation.

"Judges, police officers, lawyers, must be held to a higher standard— especially police officers and Crown attorneys and judges, because that's why they're there: They're there to enforce the criminal law. If they break it, there is a higher standard that they have to face."

However, another Winnipeg law professor, David Deutscher, believes Harveymordenzenk's sentence is appropriate for the crime, based on the evidence presented in court.

"If the individual unfortunately in the car in front of him had not been killed and had not been hurt, [Harveymordenzenk] would have gotten a traffic ticket and that would be the end of it. Justice has to deal with behaviour, not necessarily with consequences alone," he said Tuesday.

"My view is the fact that the individual is an off-duty police officer ought not to affect the sentence that's given," he added, making an exception for cases in which justice officials use their position to break the law.

Province to review special prosecutors

Wyant also criticized the way some aspects of the case were handled by special prosecutor Marty Minuk.While saying Minuk did not err in law in the case, Wyant said the prosecutor should have made the reasons for the plea bargain clear in public.

Justice Minister Dave Chomiak said the province will review the role of special prosecutors, independent prosecutors who are brought in on cases involving police and justice officials to avoid any perceived conflict of interest with regular Crown attorneys.

"We have a written protocol policy that's probably the most robust in Canada," Chomiak said. "Notwithstanding that, I think it's appropriate that we also take a review."

The review will be conducted by retired Queen's Bench judge Ruth Krindle.

The Manitoba government has also ordered a review of the East St. Paul police department, which handled the initial investigation into the crash.

In a deal with prosecutors, Harveymordenzenk —also known as Derek Harvey-Zenk — pleaded guilty to a single charge of dangerous driving causing death in the crash that killed Taman, a 40-year-old mother of three whose convertible was stopped at a traffic light at the corner of Highway 59 and the Perimeter Highway when it was hit from behind.

Harveymordenzenk was initially charged with refusing a breathalyzer, impaired driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death, but those charges were dropped without explanation when Harveymordenzenk pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.

The court heard that Harveymordenzenk had been out at an after-shift party with off-duty colleagues in the hours before the crash, but no evidence was offered in the case about whether the former officer had been drinking.