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VOL. 27 NO. 34
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Police assault suit probe widens By MARGARET SPEIRS AN ABORIGINAL man suing a former Terrace RCMP officer for his role in how he suffered a brain injury while in police custody wants to know more about how the officer did his job and, in particular, how he dealt with other aboriginal people. The demand by Robert Wright comes in the form of a filing in BC Supreme Court Dec. 8 for an order to be made against Constable
Brian Heideman. Wright is looking for documents from Heideman that would add to the testimony provided by the police officer and his former superior, Terrace RCMP detachment commander Inspector Dana Hart, in October. Wright is suing for damages, saying he suffered a brain injury which has affected his quality of life from an incident involving Heideman after he was arrested for drunk driving April 21, 2012.
In separate examinations for discovery, which are held to elicit information prior to the start of a formal trial, Hart outlined two previous incidents involving Heideman and aboriginal men in which force was used and his involvement in incidents where a small amount of cocaine was lost at the detachment. The two incidents involved an Alvin Clayton on April 30, 2012, just nine days after Heideman arrested Wright, and a William Watts
on May 15, 2012, just over three weeks after Heideman arrested Wright. Heideman, in his own examination for discovery, declined to speak about the two above-mentioned incidents but did admit to losing a small amount of cocaine and did admit to taking steroids while on duty. Heideman’s lawyer told Wright’s lawyer there would be no list of documents, which prompted the Dec. 8 filing.
Should there be no judgment against Heideman, Wright’s lawyer wants him ordered to provide that list of documents and undergo a further examination for discovery to answer a series of questions about steroid use, including the involvement of other RCMP officers, more information about how Heideman lost the cocaine from his work desk and more questions about the Watts and Clayton incidents.
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City shifting grant duties
MARGARET SPEIRS PHOTO
■■ Lock it up RCMP AUXILIARY Constable Chris Gair was one of the auxiliary officers who was out last week placing notices on vehicles with tips on how to prevent thefts of goods and vehicles. The key tip? Make sure your vehicle is locked. RCMP also advise not leaving items of value in plain sight and using an anti-theft device.
THE CITY of Terrace is embarking upon a major shift in how it will provide grants to community groups. The 2016 budget year is the last in which council will hear direct pitches from groups and then decide who should get money, who should not and the reasons why or why not. Up until now, those requests have been juggled by council members as they contemplate overall spending for next year. But for 2017 onward, council is turning over the responsibility to the Terrace Community Foundation, which the city helped sponsor and found in 2011. The foundation has its own endowment fund, the interest from which it provides to successful applicants, but it also distributes money on behalf of businesses, groups or individuals who provide specific guidelines, says foundation chair Joyce Gibson. And it is within this context that the foundation will assume grant decision making on behalf of the city, she added. “The city will still help financially and it will provide us a list of those who ask for money,” said Gibson. This year the city has set aside approximately $60,000 for community group grants and the future contributions to the community foundation for distribution will be decided annually. The long-term plan, however, is for the city to wean community groups off of receiving money directly from city coffers in favour of having the community foundation be the direct provider of assistance. But mayor Carol Leclerc said that’s very much in the future and the city has undertaken a multiyear commitment to provide an annual sum to the community foundation.
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Traditional tastes
Inquiry launched
Spikes up
Christmas recipes were popular with the pioneers of this area \COMMUNITY A15
First steps taken in investigating missing, murdered women \NEWS A4
Caledonia senior girls earn fourth at provincials in Vernon \SPORTS A22