More information arising from altercations at a 2017 pre-grad party in which three people were stabbed, one person was beaten and three people subsequently charged and given conditional sentences has been sent to provincial Crown Counsel.
The information stems from a review of a report that had been sent to Crown Counsel originally and additional statements gathered from an RCMP officer assigned to look into a complaint filed with the police force about how officers handled the aftermath of the incidents which took place June 8, 2017 at the pre-grad party held at Sunset Lake near Topley.
The investigating officer of the complaint “will be forwarding the additional information to Crown Counsel for review and consideration on charges,” reads a portion of a disposition of the complaint filed by Mavis Goertzen, the mother-in-law of Gerald Whitford, the person badly beaten in the altercation.
This information relates specifically to events after Whitford, who was attacked once, then produced a knife which was subsequently taken away. Whitford was assaulted a second time. His girlfriend, Elisha Goertzen, the daughter of Mavis Goertzen, was also assaulted.
Whitford was originally charged with three counts of aggravated assault, but later pleaded guilty in February 2018 to one count of assault with a weapon. He was given a conditional sentence of nine months to be followed by one year of probation.
Wounds suffered by three people were described as non-life threatening.
To date, two youth, who cannot be named because of their age, had been charged with assaulting Whitford, 22. One pleaded guilty last year and was given a conditional release and placed on probation for 12 months with a number of conditions.
The second youth pleaded guilty earlier this month and was given 12 months probation. He must also apologize to Whitford.
Whitford, in a victim impact statement prepared for court proceedings, said he suffered head wounds so that his head was “like mush” as well as a broken nose and a punctured eardrum.
Speaking last week, Mavis Goertzen said she told Whitford that he had to take responsibility for his actions, something she said he has now done and described the knife he produced as having a small blade.
“The knife was self-defence, after the first time,” said Goertzen of the altercations.
“There’s more here that has yet to be uncovered and dealt with,” she said of the events of the evening.
She said the charges filed against the two youth only came several months after the pre-grad party when a short video taken during the first attack surfaced.
“I thank that person who came forward [with the video],” Goertzen added.
Goertzen’s complaint filed with the RCMP alleges police did not do a proper investigation into a situation which police officers at the scene described as “chaotic” given the number of young people present consuming alcohol.
One of the initial responding officers, interviewed as part of the complaint investigation said “he did attempt to control the scene as best as possible with the limited police resources.”
Goertzen said family members felt there was bias against her son-in-law and daughter from the start, thinking at one time it may have been because of their Indigenous heritage.
“I now think there was no racial bias but a bias in the investigation as to the conduct and attitude toward them,” said Goertzen.
“I do think there needs to be more education on how to deal with First Nations people as well.”
She said RCMP officers that night visited the location several times prior to the incidents and could have shut the party down before the situation got out of hand.
The disposition, signed by Goertzen on Jan. 15, indicates there is “ongoing operational guidance to the members of the Houston detachment, specifically in the area of quality of investigations and external client satisfaction.”
The disposition indicated she’s satisfied with the way her complaint was handled but wanted to discuss it further with other family members before signing off on an “informal resolution.”
One action undertaken by RCMP officers as a result of Goertzen’s complaint was to take a more preventative approach to pre-grad activities.
“Police received a positive response from individuals with their efforts to gather information on the [2018] pre-grad events as well as cooperation from parents in monitoring the activities of their children,” read the disposition.
“The local detachment will endeavour to continue to work with and in the school system to prevent drug and alcohol abuse amongst local youth, a key to preventing violence amongst youth.”
Listed as “outstanding concerns” in the disposition is Goertzen’s belief that RCMP officers should wear body cameras.
She also wants a further investigation into whether there is evidence of an assault that occurred to Whitford, something agreed to by the RCMP.
“We’d like any additional information to be brought forward to the RCMP. Perhaps there’s a second video,” said Goertzen in commenting on the disposition.
Goertzen also wants more investigation done into how and when Whitford’s pants came off before he was arrested.
Police statements indicate they were found by a police service dog in a nearby bushy area and that Whitmore himself had no recollection of the events of the evening, including how his pants came off.
