INSIDE: A hand up, not a hand out, says city with new bylaw Pg. 6 F R I D A Y
January 28, 2011
16 N E W S ,
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Oldtimers still love their hockey
E N T E R T A I N M E N T chilliwacktimes.com
RCMP blameless in Knipstrom death BY TYLER OLSEN tolsen@chilliwacktimes.com
Justified in using Taser, baton & pepper spray
still-unreleased report into the 2007 death of Robert Knipstrom in police custody says the Mounties were not to blame for the Chilliwack man’s death, according to a report by the Canadian Press. The report by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) was completed more
than a year ago but has still not been released because the Mounties have not yet commented on its findings. But the Canadian Press obtained the interim report through an Access to Information request. The document was not available to the Times at press time. Knipstrom died five days after
A
being Tasered, hit by a baton and pepper-sprayed at an Airport Road business. According to the Canadian Press, the report says that Mounties were justified in using such force to detain Knipstrom, who a witness said was behaving erratically and threatening to fight an officer. Knipstrom was taken to hospi-
tal after being arrested, but lost consciousness. He never woke up again. The report does state that an initial RCMP investigation to the incident included several problems, including a constable involved in the arrest interviewing the two main civilian witnesses, which created a conflict of interest. Since the
report’s release the Mounties have stopped investigating themselves in such cases. Nevertheless, the report stated that there was no evidence that the officers involved should have been prosecuted, according to the Canadian Press. Officials with the CPC cannot comment on the report until it is officially released. But they have See KNIPSTROM, Page 7
Regional directors stung by decision
SCHOOLS PREPARING FOR THE BIG ONE
BY ROCHELLE BAKER rbaker@abbotsfordtimes.com
D
Cornelia Naylor/TIMES
Robertson elementary Grade 1 students Jenna Cleaver and James Laffin “drop, cover and hold on” during the Great B.C. ShakeOut earthquake drill held all over the province at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
irectors of the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) electoral areas feel they are undervalued and are disappointed in the City of Abbotsford’s decision to attempt to extract itself from the organization. David Lamson, director of Area E which includes Cultus Lake and the Chillwack River Valley, noted outdoor tourism in rural areas of the district is a huge economic boon to surrounding cities. “The value of electoral areas to cities has been completely ignored,” Lamson said. “Cultus Lake gets over three million visitors a year. Where do those tourists stay? In hotels in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, and that’s where they buy all their stuff.” Additionally, residents in the electoral areas travel to urban centres to purchase all their goods and services. See STUNG, Page 11
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