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Friday, October 18 • 2013
Vol. 6 • Issue 32
Sasha Zaitsoff’s Olympic dream See Page 13 280 Baker Street Nelson BC (250)
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Courts
Police search put on trial GREG NESTEROFF Nelson Star Reporter
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Rock art from the distant past See Pages 4 & 5
A judge has reserved decision in the case of a woman who sued a Nelson Police Department officer for what she calls an unlawful search. Justice Peter Voith heard testimony in Nelson Supreme Court over 3½ days last week. In her statement of claim, plaintiff Charity Mason said that on the morning of June 26, 2009 she was a passenger in a truck pulled over in Nelson by Cst. Drew Turner. He said he smelled marijuana from the vehicle and searched Mason, the driver, and another passenger. The search, which involved a pat down of their bodies, produced no drugs and no charges were laid. Mason claims the search was “without warrant or reasonable cause” and was an unreasonable breach of privacy that violated her Charter rights. She further claims the search was “deliberately or negligently conducted … in a public place to embarrass the petitioner” and constituted “false imprisonment” and “personal and sexual assault and battery.” She is seeking declarations that her rights were violated as well as special,
general, and punitive damages. In his statement of defence, Turner denied the allegations. He said at all times he used reasonable care, skill and diligence, and acted in accordance with applicable standards, procedures, and practices. In his version of events, he said he responded to a 911 call about a pickup truck heading toward Nelson that was crossing lanes and tailgating a motorcycle. He pulled the truck over in the 700 block of Highway 3A. “Upon being told the reasons for the stop, the driver yelled obscenities and said the motorcyclist was speeding up and slowing down in front of him and driving like an idiot,” Turner wrote. Turner said he strongly smelled marijuana from the vehicle, which gave him reasonable grounds to search the vehicle. He said the search was conducted lawfully and reasonably and denied violating Mason’s Charter rights or assaulting her. Mason, who has represented herself in the case since 2011, is also suing the City of Nelson, alleging it Story continues to ‘Officer’ on Page 10
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Home Owners helping home owners
T-shirts to Inform
Kirsten Hildebrand photo
Nelson Committee on Homelessness coordinator Katie Tabor showed off some entries in the DIY t-shirt project yesterday. Local youth put the message to fabric during Homelessness Action Week. Winning designs were done by Bradley from Sequoia in the 12-to-18-year-old category, Sage from Brent Kennedy in the 12-andunder category and Margaret-Anne Murphy in the 21-to-30-year-old category. There is still a chance to see all the original t-shirt designs up at the Nelson Trading Company, on display through Saturday.
Lemon Creek Fuel Spill
Ombudsman won’t investigate KIRSTEN HILDEBRAND Nelson Star Reporter
A Slocan Valley resident who isn’t ready to forget this summer’s jet fuel spill into Lemon Creek has filed a complaint with the BC Ombudsman’s office — to no avail. John Wittmayer approached the agency in August to see if it would investigate how varying authorities handled the spill. Af-
ter a long wait, it was suggested he narrow his focus for a less daunting task. He decided to name Interior Health, but this month was told it was doubtful there are enough grounds for a probe. Wittmayer shared his response to the ombudsman with the Star. “You stated… that you can only investigate procedure, policy, and protocol. This is exactly what is needed here,” he wrote.
“Your investigation could actually do some good for Canadians who want to ensure that response times and emergency procedures and protocols are put in place to protect people facing these types of disasters in the future.” On July 26, an Executive Flight Centre truck carrying jet fuel for helicopters battling a wildfire on Story continues to ‘Interior’ on Page 10
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