A Criminal to Remember (A Monty Haaviko Thriller) (16 page)

The whole room was silent and then someone coughed.

“I’ve been arrested for assault, arson, uttering threats, theft, breaking and entry, smuggling, possession of weapons, dangerous driving, resisting arrest, fraud, possession of controlled substances, sale of controlled substances, attempted murder and murder amongst others. In the past eleven years I’ve done eight of them in prison.”

I waited but no one said anything. I knew Dean and Brenda were in the audience and I wondered what they thought of my spiel. I had not checked it with them at all.

“I’ve been addicted to alcohol and drugs of all sorts, from heroin on down. You name it and I’ve tried just about every vice imaginable.”

I looked down. Claire was in the front row with a slight smile. She caught my eye and nodded slightly and I went on, “Now I live in your city. I have a wife, a son and pets. I have a home. I have a life. And I would like to be your police board commissioner because I can tell you from personal experience that the current system does not work. It is time for a change.”

There were a few murmurs of agreement.

“Our current justice system puts people in prison at a phenomenal rate. And they come out and nothing has changed. Then they look around and go back to being bad guys because that is what they know. Even if they wanted to change they cannot. And they come out with a profound contempt for the legal system and the police. And that contempt has to change as well.”

That got some applause. I checked my notes.

“Between 2003 and 2007 the number of men, women and children in Manitoba prisons increased to over 1,800 from over 1,400. Right now there are over 2,100 men, women and children in a prison system designed for 1,600. Manitoba has the second highest rate of incarceration in Canada with Saskatchewan beating us. Yet we continue to feel afraid.”

There were fewer murmurs of agreement to that. There was also some grumbling.

“So we can make a change and we can start with the police force, because it does not work. And we can make it work in a way to make the streets safe. We can make the police more effective and more efficient.”

That got a much stronger response.

“So vote for me. It’s time for change.”

Rumer Illyanovitch waited until the applause died before he started to speak. “My opponent is very passionate,” He paused to let it sink in and then went on, “and very
WRONG
. Crime in this city is out of control! Gangs deal drugs to our children, an incompetent justice system gives house arrest to killers and our mothers and wives and daughters are no longer safe to walk the streets. And my opponent wants to limit the powers of police? We should be expanding them, not curtailing them!”

He glared at the audience and then visibly got control of himself. “A vote for my opponent is a vote for anarchy. For chaos. A vote for me is a vote for law and order. I will make the police stronger. I will make the thieves and rapists and drug dealers hide. I will make the city safer.”

The applause was deafening and Rumer started in on me. “You state that there is a problem with the police force?”

“Yes. I’ll go farther than that. I’ll state that the people don’t trust their police.”

Rumer looked across at me and narrowed his eyes. “And how do you explain the fact that the number of complaints to the Law Enforcement Review Agency about the police dropped in 2007 compared to earlier years?”

That was an easy one; Dean had fed me those facts and figures. “Simple. 2006 was a bad year for the police. The police got into a feud with a group of bicyclists during their annual protest ride over cycling safety and those bicyclists complained. It’s that simple. In 2007 the police did not confront the bicyclists and so the bicyclists did not complain about the police. The result was many fewer complaints.”

Rumer swelled with anger but I raised my voice. “Most Winnipeggers have given up on their police. They no longer believe they are accountable for their actions.”

Rumer was dismissive. “The system worked. Public inquiries are called when the people complain.”

I pointed a finger at Rumer. “Public inquiries are called when the police and the Crown make mistakes. And Manitoba has more public inquiries than any other province and the majority of them deal with the actions of their police.”

I let my words hang in the air and turned to the audience.“That is what I mean when I say the public does not trust the police.”

Rumer tried to interrupt and I just got louder again. “People don’t trUS
T
the police. We, the people, expect our police to be professional. We expect our police to be honest. That’s pretty much it. We’re not getting either honesty or professionalism and so the people do not trust their police.”

The moderator was gesturing to me to shut up and finally he cut off my mike but I just raised my voice some more. “And that lack of trust is a goddamned shame! That’s just wrong. We should trust our police. And we don’t. So we need to change what’s happening. And we need to change it at a grassroots level!”

My voice echoed in the auditorium and then I was silent. Down front Claire nodded and Fred clapped.

Jim said sternly, “Mr. Haaviko, there are rules to debates and you are required to follow them.”

I looked at him and imagined breaking his kneecaps, and then I lowered my head. “Sorry. I’m new at this.”

He was satisfied and turned to Rumer. “Sir. Your turn.”

“Thank you. I would like to say that most Winnipeggers do trust their police. I would say that my opponent is repeating lies and falsehoods.”

I raised my hand and said calmly, “May I speak?”

The moderator was surprised; I guess he was ready for me to rant. “Why?”

“Mr. Illyanovitch is making a mistake. I wish to correct it.”

Jim looked blank and finally said, “Certainly.”

“Thank you. Mr. Illyanovitch, I am not telling a lie. I am giving an opinion. There’s a difference. Let me ask you something: do police officers rely on each other?”

“Yes. With their lives.”

“That requires trust.”

“Yes. Absolute trust.”

“Absolute trust. Good term. Now, do the police ever break the law?”

“Certain bad cops have been found in the past, yes, but it is rare.”

“And who turned them in?”

“Who turned them in? Other cops.”

I had the paper in front of me memorized but I looked at it anyway. “Three decades ago a woman was murdered here in the city and a man was arrested. The man went through three trials and four years in prison before being cleared of the murder and paid $2.6 million in compensation. The report criticized the unfortunate acts and omissions of some police officers. Two decades ago a man was shot to death by a police officer. The police department cleared the shooter. An official inquiry did not. Two decades ago a man was murdered and another was arrested. An official inquiry found flaws in the actions of the police and the Crown and paid the imprisoned man $4 million in compensation. Shall I continue?”

“What do those have to do with anything?”

“Simple. There is a pattern. Inquiries found miscarriages of justice in each case on behalf of the police and the Crown. Yet the police did not catch any of the miscarriages prior to the inquiries.”

“Those were unique circumstances. And justice was done in each case.”

“True. I would argue that three unique circumstances form a pattern that should be examined. But I digress; no charges were ever laid against any police officers, right?”

“None.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why were no charges laid? A miscarriage of justice occurred in each case but the police, the investigative branch, could not investigate. The police could not determine who should be brought to trial and that is not right.”

Rumer held up his hand and the moderator stopped me. “Mr. Illyanovitch. You wanted to say something?”

“Yes. The police are professional, thoughtful, respectful and brave. They take care of dangers to society. They enforce the law of the many and protect the rights of the few. You obviously don’t understand that the role of the police commission should support the police, not hinder them.”

The moderator turned to me and I responded, “Exactly! That is what I am supporting and what you are fighting.”

Rumer was surprised and his hands fluttered to the pages in front of him. I went on. “Police are doing an impossible task and must trust each other implicitly all the time. Yet we expect them to investigate each other. To effectively spy on each other. We sow dissent by doing that. We make it impossible for them to do their job.”

I looked over the audience. “It is a legal principle that a husband cannot testify against a wife or a wife against a husband. And the relationship of the police to each other is possibly equally strong—we always hear the term ‘brother’ used by the police, for example. And one purpose of the commission is to oversee an independent investigative system so the police will never have to investigate themselves again.”

Rumer spoke up. “That’s …”

I let the moderator shush him and went on, “After all, there seems to be a pattern here. When will it stop? The strength of the police, their traditions, their loyalty, precludes them from watching themselves. Yet Mr. Illyanovitch comes to you from a police background and wants to be chief of an organization designed to moderate the police. Yet he is a police officer and he will still treat the police as brothers. He has to do so. He is a police officer; he will always be a police officer. The police are his brothers and deserve his loyalty.”

I paused. “How could he ever be fair when his brothers are threatened with arrest? You see how hard he fights to protect them here and now. The loyalty that makes him a great police officer makes him a lousy police commissioner. This is why you should vote for me. Because that vote is a vote for change.”

P
andemonium ensued and I had a drink of water. Rumer waited it out and clenched his fingers over and over again on the podium. From where I was I could almost swear he was growling.

Jim turned to Rumer and said, “You may begin.”

“You started young.” Rumer held up a sheet of paper and gestured towards me.

“Yes.”

“As a criminal.
AS A THIEF
.”

His voice echoed but I just nodded politely. This whole thing was kind of like a court case and I was used to listening instead of participating. It was kind of fun to be an actual participant. Rumer had apparently wanted me to react in a more aggressive fashion because he looked unhappy and then went on, “When you were sixteen you robbed a pharmacy and attacked the pharmacist with a hatchet. A year later you stabbed a female police officer with a screwdriver while selling her ecstasy.”

He stared at me and waved the paper. “Should I go on?”

“Sure.”

“You were a member of Los Apaches, a street gang in Vancouver.”

“No.”

“You were a … what?”

“I was never a member.” I turned to the audience. “I didn’t make it all the way to being a full member. I was a prospect. But I got kicked out for disobeying orders. They felt I didn’t show enough respect.”

There was silence and then some people in the room started to laugh. I turned back to Rumer. “Where did you get that information?”

Rumer just grinned tightly and I turned back to the audience. “Mr. Illyanovitch is holding a list of crimes I committed while I was a juvenile. That information is sealed by court order to allow the juvenile, in this case me, to start fresh when they become an adult. So Mr. Illyanovitch is holding something the courts will be very interested in. I, myself, cannot access that file. So how is it that Mr. Illyanovitch has it here and now?”

I waited but Rumer had nothing to say so I turned back to the audience. “However. What he said is true. I was a violent man and a violent child. I was a thief and many other things, most of them bad. Now I am not.”

I held my hands out to the sides. “All that is in the past. Let’s leave it there. Consider the future, consider this: police make mistakes sometimes, that’s a fact. If you or I make a mistake the damage is limited but a police officer making a mistake, breaking the law or looking away, can do an awful lot of damage.”

Rumer tried to speak but I just kept going.

“And other cops are forced to watch and stay silent because of loyalty. A loyalty that they must possess in great measure in order to do their job properly. And never forget that their job is to arrest people and provide a good case for the Crown to prosecute. Make no mistake that their job is very hard, almost impossible.”

I glanced at the page in front of me.

“I’m going to list some names. These are people convicted of murdering children.”

I named them and there was silence in the room. I waited a few seconds and went on, “All convicted due to the flawed testimony of a pathologist who was later discredited in a public inquiry. For years police knew there was something wrong with the man but they kept referring cases his way because it was a quick, reliable way for them to do their jobs. Which was to arrest people and send them to trial and prison. This happened in another province but it shows a pattern.”

Rumer quieted down and the moderator waited for me to finish.

“There are other people, some convicted forty years ago because a cop didn’t like hippies. Another convicted two years ago because a cop didn’t like Indians. I could go on.”

The moderator said, “You should wrap it up, Mr. Haaviko.”

“Certainly. I want the police commission to watch the police so they can focus on being police. And the police commission cannot do its job if Mr. Illyanovitch is in charge.”

I waited but Rumer still had nothing to say.

I turned and addressed the gymnasium. “Something is wrong. We are not getting justice now. Something has to change. It’s time for a change and this commission is the start. And, if you vote for me, I will be the agent of that change.”

Some applause and a few boos and catcalls and then it was Rumer’s turn. He stepped out from behind his lectern and faced the audience with his hands clasped behind his back.