THE FREE PRESS UP FRONT PHONE 564-0005 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1994 Page A3 Police deny beating prisoner arter arrest By DAVID HEYMAN Prince George Free Press Four local RCMP officers are being sued by a man who says they beat him after he was taken into custody. And Crown Counsel has charged two of the officers with assault in the same incident. At the time of his arrest, Gregory Dwight Moyou had an outstanding warrant on several charges including break and enters, sexual assault, and possession of stolen property. Mr. Moyou’s lawyer, Harold Alkema, has photos of him after the anest and he is shown with severe bruises and cuts to his right shoulder and head. Mr. Alkema says he would prefer not to release the photos to the media because they are evidence. The police report filed immediately after the incident reveals what happened in the police officers’ own words. At 11:30 p.m., on the evening of August 22,1993, Constables Gordon Campbell and Brad Myhre were staking out a residence in the 2100 block of Victoria Street when Mr. Moyou and two other men came outside, got in a car and drove down an alley. The officers were joined by Constable Gary Senner in another police car and they pursued Mr. Moyou’s vehicle with emergency lights flashing. Mr. Moyou’s car refused to stop, headed out onto a street, and reached speeds of 70 km/h, even through the speed limit in some cases was 20-30 km/h. The car turned down a dead end street and the driver got out and jumped a fence. Constable Campbell chased him on foot and Mr. Moyou was found shortly afterward behind a shed hiding in some bushes. Mr. Moyou says he submitted to arrest without resistance but the police tell a different story. Mr. Moyou says Constable Campbell handcuffed his hands behind his back and threw him to the ground. He says he was then struck in the “...you continue to work until such time as they say ‘okay, there is some wrongdoing here.999 Gordon Molendyk head by one or more of the four officers named in the lawsuit, thrown to the ground, beaten, and then mauled by a police dog. Mr. Moyou says he suffered serious physical and emotional injuries from the incident. The actual police report points the blame at Mr. Moyou himself. “Moyou did not initially present a great deal of problems upon arrest. He was handcuffed and taken towards police car. Upon approaching the same fence jumped earlier, he struggled and pulled away crashing into the fence and knocking it down and falling to the ground. Constable Myhre and Senner and Kuich and PSD (police service dog) assisted in restraining Moyou. Moyou was kicking wildly thrashing about. He was restrained and escorted to PC (police car) 13 B 12 and Constable Senner escorted Moyou to city cells (and then) later to PGRH for treatment but declined any type of medical attention.” The report says Mr. Moyou changed his mind about treatment after talking to his lawyer and was then taken to hospital. In court documents, the defendant RCMP officers in the civil suit (Gordon Campbell, Brad Kuich, Garry Senner, and Brad Mhyre) “deny any harrassment, assault, wrongful arrest, or malicious prosecution. If Mr. Moyou suffered any injuries in the incident with the RCMP (they were) self inflicted.” They go on to say Mr. Moyou “was negligent in deliberately resisting the attempts of the Defendants to make a peaceful arrest, in assaulting the Defendants, in provoking the police service dog at the time of this incident, in consuming alcohol, prescription drugs or non prescription drugs, and failing to take reasonable precautions for his own safety.” The RCMP say they have completed an investigation into the incident but they won’t release details unless ordered to do so by a court. So far, none of the officers has been disciplined in any way. Brad Kuich was promoted and is now a corporal in Manitoba, and Gary Senner has also moved on. Constables Campbell and Mhyre continue to work here. Constables Campbell and Kuich will appear in court in January for a preliminary hearing on their assault charges. The lawsuit will not proceed until after the assault charges are dealt with. Meanwhile, Constable Gordon Molendyk, the RCMP’s media relations officer, is sticking by his fellow cops. “We can’t always please everybody because we’re taking people’s rights away.” He says officers shouldn’t automatically be assigned a desk job or be punished in other ways when a criminal charge is laid against them. “In my service, I’ve probably had 12 to 15 such complaints against me, all have been unfounded. Now I realize not all of them went to a criminal charge like this one is, but you continue to work until such time as they say ‘okay, there’s some wrongdoing here, you’re under suspension until such time as it’s over.” A two vehicle accident occured at the intersection of Handlen Road and Highway 97 on Sunday. Two occupants of one vehicle were transported to Prince George Regional Hospital and later released. RCMP say both vehicles received extensive damage. The accident is still under investigation. Police say alcohol was not a factor. Rob Biron/Free Press Dick Byl Law Corporation Dick Byl & Janice A. Dowhaniuk • Personal Injury Claims • Family Law • ICBC Claims • Commercial Litigation • Forestry Law • Aboriginal Law J? Dick Byl Law Corporation 900 - 550 Victoria Street Prince George, BC V2L 2K1 Phone 564-3400 Fax 564-7873 1-800-835-0088 db Intersecting/Two to hospital