It was an eight-year legal odyssey unlike few others in Manitoba history. A botched police investigation. A controversial plea bargain. A damning public inquiry. An explosive criminal trial. And so much more. But it all began with a situation that is all-too-familiar— a senseless, completely preventable tragedy where alcohol is involved.
I’ve lost track of how many of these cases I’ve covered over the years, of how many tears I’ve watched be shed in courtrooms from grieving family members, of how many sputtering apologies I’ve heard from the guilty party that was behind the wheel. And yet drinking-and-driving remains an epidemic. In many ways, this case represents a perfect storm of everything that could possibly go wrong, on so many levels.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 2, 2005
The cross of yellow and purple flowers was laid gently on the median. A small group of people huddled at the intersection while police blocked off traffic. Someone began reciting the Lord’s Prayer. A Winnipeg Free Press reporter stood to the side, observing the solemn ceremony.
Robert Taman stood stone-faced, his three adult children by his side. Several other family members and close friends were also present. Many were choking back tears. All of them wore the same pin on their coats, bearing the name of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Taman had just buried his wife, Crystal, at a service attended by more than 700 people. Crystal had been killed just a few days earlier at this very intersection, where Lagimodiere Boulevard meets the north Perimeter Highway.
“How do we go on living knowing that this could happen to any of us?” Rev. Don McIntyre had asked the congregation. “Life is not always fair.”
The pain was still raw. There were so many unanswered questions about what had occurred. Crystal had been on her way into work as a dental assistant, taking the same route she travelled all of the time. She had done nothing wrong. She was stopped at a red light in her convertible. Then along came another vehicle—a Dodge Dakota pick-up truck—with catastrophic results. It slammed into her from behind, crushing her vehicle and killing her. Crystal’s two daughters drove by the scene moments later and witnessed the horrific aftermath.
Police had made an arrest. And the Taman family was stunned to learn who was behind the wheel of the vehicle which had killed Crystal. Derek Harvey-Zenk, 31, was a constable with the Winnipeg Police Service. He was off-duty at the time of the tragedy. And he was now facing several criminal charges: refusing a breathalyzer test, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and criminal negligence causing death.
“Sometimes a person is forced to step up,” Robert Taman said at the roadside service. “We want to get through this day. We will have more to say.”
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22, 2007
The wheels of justice had been moving very slowly. And now, two-and-a-half years after a high-profile deadly crash, Manitoba justice officials had struck a plea bargain with the killer driver. It was only serving to inflame an already irate public.
Alcohol-related charges had been dropped against Derek Harvey-Zenk. In exchange, he pleaded guilty to a lesser offence of dangerous driving causing death. It was a deal that was likely going to keep him out of prison, thanks to a joint-recommendation Crown and defence lawyers made to the judge calling for a conditional sentence to be served by Harvey-Zenk in the community.
“This is so messed up. The system has let us down in a way that is so bizarre,” said Robert Taman. Justice officials—including a special Crown prosecutor hired by the province—hadn’t told the family what went wrong. “We’re being kept in the dark here, but we know this is as a result of the East St. Paul police. I don’t know what happened here, but you start to wonder about the brotherhood that exists among police officers,” Taman said.
He said the drunk driving charges should have stuck against Harvey-Zenk unless police “put a gun to his head” in making a demand for a breathalyzer—which he refused. “They made that law so that people can’t just refuse and get away with it,” Taman said. He recalled the words of the former East St. Paul police chief, Harry Bakema, who assured him: “He refused a breathalyzer, he’s guilty,” following the arrest. “Had all of the evidence been shown in this case, we wouldn’t be dealing with a joint-recommendation here,” Taman said. “I’m very disappointed. I believe this is a slap in the face to Crystal.”
Details of the tragedy were revealed in court for the first time. Harvey-Zenk and other officers had gone to a lounge in northwest Winnipeg following the completion of their shift the night before the crash. After the bar closed, Harvey-Zenk and his colleagues went to a fellow officer’s house in East St. Paul to continue partying. Harvey-Zenk admitted to having some drinks but he denied being drunk. Harvey-Zenk was coming back to the city alone on Highway 59 about 7:10 a.m. when he failed to brake and smashed into Taman’s vehicle. Taman died of massive head injuries. The crash also injured the wife of a Winnipeg police inspector who was in another vehicle.
Special prosecutor Marty Minuk, along with defence lawyer Richard Wolson, made a joint recommendation for a two-year conditional sentence. But chief provincial court Judge Ray Wyant expressed concern about the deal and reserved his verdict. He said there should be a “higher standard of conduct” from those involved in the justice system and also questioned the fact Harvey-Zenk refused a breathalyzer. Both Wolson and Minuk told the judge he must disregard that because the Crown dropped the charge, along with charges of impaired driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death.
Minuk didn’t give an explanation as to why the charges were dropped. However, he said there were problems with the case that had forced it to drag out so long. Minuk admitted he also recommended an “independent investigation” be done on the East St. Paul police probe. Outside court, Wolson said he believed East St. Paul police made the breathalyzer demand on his client without evidentiary basis for it. Wolson said Harvey-Zenk may have fallen asleep just prior to the crash and added that alcohol wasn’t a factor. East St. Paul police Chief Norm Carter—whom the Taman family said was the lead investigator—wouldn’t comment.
Harvey-Zenk, who joined the Winnipeg Police Service in 2000, had been suspended without pay shortly after the crash. He had since resigned and moved to Brandon with his wife and son. “I’ve taken someone away who was so loved and cherished and for this I’m profoundly sorry,” Harvey-Zenk said in a brief statement in court.
FRIDAY AUGUST 24, 2007
They had been called incompetent, unethical and incapable of handling even the simplest of assignments. One local radio commentator compared them to the gun-toting buffoons portrayed in the popular Police Academy movies. Others had suggested they should hang up their handcuffs for good and make way for a “real” police service such as the RCMP. So it was safe to say the East St. Paul police and administration had seen better days.
“It’s been a rough week,” admitted Michael Wasylin, the deputy reeve of the municipality that oversees the operations of its police service. “It seems like everyone who’s ever got a parking ticket from us is now coming out of the woodwork with a complaint.”
The 10-officer East St. Paul detachment—with a history dating back to 1916—now found itself the subject of intense public scrutiny and a pending judicial review that would likely put its future on trial. Manitoba Justice Minister Dave Chomiak—citing a series of recent controversies and scandals—said the only way to “restore public confidence” was with a thorough review of the force’s operations. The icing on the cake was the handling of the Derek Harvey-Zenk investigation.
“We want our residents to have the respect they should for their police department. We’ve implemented a number of recommendations, policy changes, all for the better,” Wasylin said. “But we want to know that our policies make sense, that the people we have in place are the right people and that our officers can be counted on.” He said the old-boy’s-club mentality that dominated for years was gone, giving way to a fresh perspective.
Police Chief Norm Carter, Reeve Lawrence Morris, Chief Administrative Officer Jerome Mauws and citizen’s protection committee member Gerry Jennings, a retired Mountie, were also speaking publicly.
“It’s important to know that council has full confidence in Norm and his department,” Wasylin said. Wasylin, who works as a defence lawyer, said senior East St. Paul officials were confident in their message: Their police detachment had changed from two years ago. One of the biggest changes, said Wasylin, was the screening process used to hire new members. This became a major issue following an embarrassing revelation in June 2006 that one of their former members, Michael Sandham, had been arrested and charged with murdering eight Bandidos bikers in southern Ontario in April 2006.
Wasylin said what many members of the public forget was that Sandham was fired from the force in 2002 after it was learned he’d been secretly providing security for local biker events. “As soon as we found that out he was gone within a day,” Wasylin said. Still, the stench of employing a man who would eventually become a high-ranking biker and get involved in one of the worst mass killings in Canadian history lingered.
Wasylin said another troubling issue for East St. Paul was a sudden rise in Law Enforcement Review Agency complaints against its officers. “We had probably gone about 10 years with maybe one or two complaints, but all of a sudden, in a short period of time, we had like eight or nine,” he said. “That indicated to us we had a significant problem.” The complaints from members of the community largely involved excessive use of force. Several were settled out of court, a few were dropped and a couple were pending.
Wasylin and his fellow administrators were now pointing the finger of blame squarely at Harry Bakema, a former Winnipeg police officer who took over the East St. Paul detachment in 2004. Bakema was fired in February 2006 following an in-camera meeting of the municipal council. Wasylin said Bakema’s actions during his short tenure as chief left them no choice. “He no longer had the confidence of his officers. He certainly didn’t have the confidence of the administration,” Wasylin said.
The Harvey-Zenk controversy had been quietly brewing behind-the-scenes for nearly 30 months before it bubbled over when reaching court. Wasylin and other community members, including the present police chief, wouldn’t disclose what went wrong. But they said Bakema, who was the lead investigator, failed “to follow proper investigative techniques.” “What happened here is inexcusable. For our part in that we feel sorry,” Wasylin said.
Bakema fired back later in the day through his lawyer, Hymie Weinstein. He denied any wrongdoing in the Harvey-Zenk case. Weinstein said his client spoke briefly with Harvey-Zenk at the scene of the fatal crash, observed him to be in a “state of shock” but didn’t smell any alcohol. He turned Harvey-Zenk over to another East St. Paul officer and remained at the scene for the rest of the day, Weinstein said.
Bakema said he recognized Harvey-Zenk, having worked with him in the North End district of the Winnipeg Police Service prior to working in East St. Paul. However, Weinstein said his client never worked directly or socialized with Harvey-Zenk. He said suggestions from East St. Paul police and administration that Bakema was fired based on his actions in the Harvey-Zenk case were false. “That was a whole different issue,” said Weinstein, who didn’t want to provide any further details. Bakema was now selling real estate.
Wasylin said it was Carter—then a sergeant in East St. Paul—who first voiced concerns about Bakema’s conduct and other problems within the service. He said that alone should give the public confidence that serious changes had been made.
East St. Paul had launched a review of its police department a year ago, with retired RCMP officer Robert Tramley finding evidence of “unprofessional behaviour by officers, poor police practices and use of excessive force.” He also discovered examples of some officers downloading pornography onto police computers.
Wasylin also revealed that RCMP were called in to investigate East St. Paul police and their handling of Harvey-Zenk’s case the previous year. The Mounties forwarded their finding to an independent lawyer, who ruled that no criminal charges should be laid.
MONDAY AUGUST 27, 2007
The truth was slowly beginning to emerge. And the scandal was starting to grow. Former East St. Paul Police Chief Harry Bakema was now being accused by fellow officers of ordering them in advance not to refer in their notes about Winnipeg police officer Derek Harvey-Zenk’s alcohol consumption.
A justice official—speaking to the Winnipeg Free Press on the condition of anonymity—shed new light on the increasingly alarming situation. “[The officers] said they were told not to put anything in about the alcohol, to go light on what they saw at the scene. Harry [Bakema] told them what to put in their notes,” said the source. “It was because he [Harvey-Zenk] was a city cop.” The source said the revelation about Bakema influencing the police notes came on the eve of Harvey-Zenk’s preliminary hearing in 2006 from Norm Carter, who took over as East St. Paul chief after Bakema was fired.
The retired RCMP officer who spearheaded a review of the municipal detachment following Bakema’s firing was also joining the chorus, calling the controversial plea-bargain with Harvey-Zenk a “travesty.” “If there’s going to be an inquiry here, [the province] should look at their own department and how they handled this case,” said Robert Tramley. He believed the case should have gone straight to trial where the truth about what happened would have come out.
The source said the revelation about Bakema influencing the police notes came on the eve of Harvey-Zenk’s preliminary hearing in 2006 from Norm Carter, who took over as East St. Paul chief after Bakema was fired.
Tramley’s operational review—which had not been made public—looked at many cases including Harvey-Zenk’s and noted that a paramedic at the scene of that crash believed alcohol was involved. “The paramedic noted a strong odour of alcohol from Harvey-Zenk,” according to the source.
The source said the case against Harvey-Zenk was in trouble because of the fact Bakema—the lead investigator at the crash scene—didn’t make a breathalyzer demand. Harvey-Zenk wasn’t brought back to the East St. Paul detachment until at least 45 minutes after the crash. It was there that Carter—then a sergeant—made a breathalyzer demand which Harvey-Zenk refused.
“He observed what he felt were signs of impairment,” said the source. “I don’t know why [Harvey-Zenk] wouldn’t have been exhibiting any signs to Bakema. He certainly was to Norm Carter.”
Tramley said he didn’t understand why Carter’s demand, along with the observations from the paramedic, couldn’t have still resulted in a strong impaired case against Harvey-Zenk. It was believed Harvey-Zenk’s lawyer was going to fight the case on the grounds Carter had no right to ask for something which Bakema, a superior officer, clearly felt wasn’t necessary. Tramley’s review had also cited two incidents where Bakema ripped up traffic tickets given out by his members to a Winnipeg police officer and the son of a city cop, the justice source said.
Tramley also took aim at Manitoba justice officials for turning to Minuk as special prosecutor, given his previous history of defending police officers and working closely with Harvey-Zenk’s lawyer. “That doesn’t smell very good to me,” he said.
It didn’t smell good to a lot of people.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2007
It was music to the ears of the Taman family—and members of the public who thought justice wasn’t being served. The judge tasked with sentencing Winnipeg cop Derek Harvey-Zenk was now expressing serious concerns about a controversial plea-bargain. Chief Judge Ray Wyant said he was being left in the dark about important details of the deadly driving case and was seriously considering rejecting a joint-recommendation that would spare Harvey-Zenk a jail term.
Wyant even took the rare step of suggesting the case be reopened to allow evidence to be called. He said there were too many questions—especially as it related to alcohol consumption—which he hoped to have answered as he struggled with a proper punishment for Harvey-Zenk. “The court is being left with a gap as to what occurred at the end of [Harvey-Zenk’s] shift until the accident occurred,” said Wyant. “There really isn’t much information being presented to me.” But special prosecutor Marty Minuk quickly turned down the offer without explanation.
Taman’s family said they were stunned at the latest developments and blasted Minuk for his handling of the case. Victoria Sveinson, Taman’s mother, said they had previously been told the Crown had 33 potential witnesses lined up for trial. “This is a complete cover-up,” she said. “It’s like there were two defence lawyers on Harvey-Zenk’s side,” added her husband, Sveinn.
Taman’s husband, Robert, said he couldn’t believe how hard Wyant had to work to get any information from either lawyer about the facts of the case or the circumstances surrounding the plea bargain. He said Minuk should have jumped at the chance to call evidence when there was nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“I don’t understand why he didn’t,” said Robert, adding the family was not consulted about the decision. “This is all very confusing. If you weren’t shaking your head in that courtroom you weren’t awake.”
Minuk had stated during the sentencing hearing weeks earlier that Wyant could consider the fact Harvey-Zenk consumed an unknown quantity of alcohol in the hours preceding the crash as an aggravating factor. But Harvey-Zenk’s lawyer, Richard Wolson, took exception with that fact and said he should have made his objections clear at the initial hearing. He told Wyant he couldn’t consider alcohol a factor in any way.
“I’m not meaning to be rude but you have the position of my client and should sentence him accordingly,” said Wolson. “If the Crown wants to advance that [alcohol consumption], then prove it.” Wolson suggested his client “failed to keep a proper look-out” in causing an “unexplained accident”—a statement that drew audible gasps and groans from Taman’s family. Wolson sat down in disgust, saying “I can’t make submissions in these conditions.” Wyant warned the public gallery to refrain from any more outbursts or they’d have to leave.
After repeated questioning from Wyant, Minuk shed new light on the deal with Harvey-Zenk and admitted there were major problems with the way the East St. Paul police conducted their investigation at the crash site. No specific details were given. Minuk said the botched probe forced him to cut a true “plea bargain” with Harvey-Zenk—a fact Wyant said hadn’t been made clear during the initial sentencing hearing. “I’m confused. I’ve never heard that before. And it is very, very, very, very important,” said Wyant, noting judges must give greater emphasis on deals in those types of scenarios.
Minuk said he never meant to imply the Crown had a strong dangerous-driving case against Harvey-Zenk but Wyant, citing passages from the transcript of the previous hearing, said that’s exactly what was done. Wyant said his main source of concern with the proposed sentence was the fact Harvey-Zenk was a police officer at the time and should be held to a higher standard because of it. Both Wolson and Minuk claimed a conditional sentence was within the appropriate range for such a crime and filed a casebook with 20 precedents from across Canada in support of their position. Wyant adjourned his verdict, needing more time to think about it.
MONDAY OCTOBER 29, 2007
There was no getting around just how bad this looked. A former Winnipeg police officer spends the night drinking and partying and gets behind the wheel of his car “loaded.” Fellow off-duty officers who are with him at the time apply the “thin blue line” in refusing to tell the truth about what they saw. An innocent mother of three is then killed in a crash and the cover-up begins, ending in a watered-down case being presented to the court “wrapped in a tight package.” In the words of Chief provincial court Judge Ray Wyant, that was the troubling chain of events to explain what the vast majority of the public believed had occurred in the controversial Derek Harvey-Zenk case.
Moments later, a clearly frustrated Wyant held his nose and grudgingly went along with a plea bargain that spared Harvey-Zenk jail and allowed him to remain free in the community under a two-year conditional sentence. Wyant said the differences between “what we all know happened” and the limited facts presented in court for him to consider “are worlds apart” and made this such a difficult case.
“It’s a perfect storm of cynicism and why many feel you are, in the proverbial sense, getting away with murder,” he told Harvey-Zenk.
The city’s largest courtroom was packed with family and friends of Harvey-Zenk and Taman, along with a large contingent of reporters and other lawyers.
“I’ve spent countless hours thinking about this case,” said Wyant, who told the Taman family he was deeply sorry for their loss. “I wish I could wave a magic wand and turn back time. Instead of a lifetime of hope and happiness, you have a life of pain and anguish.”
Wyant said the consumption of alcohol would be a “significant factor” and questioned where the evidence of Harvey-Zenk’s colleagues was. “Why did trained police have no relevant information to give? Is it because they weren’t paying attention to the actions of [Harvey-Zenk]? Well, that’s what we’re asked to suspect,” he said. “If there were police officers who witnessed Mr. Zenk consuming alcohol, why weren’t they called?”
Wyant said judges were under clear instructions from higher courts to give serious consideration to true plea bargains such as the one that apparently existed in this case. But his comments would only increase the public’s belief that justice hadn’t been served here. Not by a long shot.
The sentencing was finished. But the controversy was far from over. A public inquiry had now been called into the circumstances of the investigation and plea-bargain. Crystal Taman’s family said they hoped the true story would finally emerge. “We did want the evidence to come out, so if this is how it’s going to happen, we’re happy,” said Robert Taman.
Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen said the case had eroded public confidence in the justice system. “When situations like this arise, it shakes people’s confidence and that confidence can only be restored through an open and transparent process,” McFadyen told reporters.
Lawyer Hymie Weinstein, who was representing former East St. Paul police chief Harry Bakema, said he felt the decision to have an inquiry was driven by the media and “some of the comments in the media.” “The government responded to that. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s not,” he said.
DECEMBER 2007
He was a couple hundred kilometres away from the scene of the crime. But Derek Harvey-Zenk remained under a microscope as he served his conditional sentence in his new western Manitoba hometown. Harvey-Zenk had already been subjected to at least 12 curfew checks from police and probation officials in Brandon in the four weeks since he began serving his sentence. Sgt. Rick Semler of the Brandon Police Service said the public should have confidence Harvey-Zenk would be closely monitored to ensure compliance with all terms of his sentence. Harvey-Zenk must be in his home at all times between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. but was allowed to go to work at a local auto shop.
Winnipeg police had long complained that a lack of resources made it difficult for them to enforce conditional sentences and execute existing warrants in the city. Violators were usually only arrested if found to be committing another crime. “That’s one of the advantages we have out here [in Brandon], being a bit smaller, is that we can do these kinds of checks. And we do them,” Semler said.
A justice source said the high-profile nature of Harvey-Zenk’s case would likely result in plenty of attention, at least initially. Harvey-Zenk appeared to be taking his sentence seriously. Semler said there had been no alleged breaches. Brandon police said there would be no special favours for Harvey-Zenk. “He won’t be treated any differently than anyone else,” Semler said.
MONDAY OCTOBER 6, 2008
It was a damning indictment of the East St. Paul police—and a long-awaited measure of justice for members of the Taman family. Inquiry commissioner Roger Salhany pulled no punches in issuing his report following several weeks of public hearings. His findings included 14 recommendations aimed at several guilty parties.
“There are a lot of changes that are going to be made in the name of Crystal,” Robert Taman said upon reviewing the findings.
Special prosecutor Marty Minuk came under attack, with Salhany questioning both his ability and willingness to accept the controversial plea-bargain that dropped all alcohol-related charges against Derek Harvey-Zenk. “Minuk gave up much on behalf of the people of Manitoba, without receiving anything of value in return,” said Salhany. “Moreover, he failed to prepare adequately before resigning himself to the deal he made.” He directed Manitoba Justice to reconsider all contracts with independent prosecutors, and use a larger pool of private bar lawyers to act when a case cannot be handled by line prosecutors.
Meanwhile, the inquiry was now going to lead to a new criminal investigation into the actions of former ESP Chief Harry Bakema. “It is clear that Bakema’s conduct, indeed his misconduct, had a devastating effect on the ability of a prosecutor to proceed with alcohol-related charges against Zenk,” said Salhany. “I am satisfied that Bakema not only falsified his own notes and reports to create a false impression of his own actions, he also prompted a fellow officer to falsify his notes... I am also satisfied that Bakema told [the other officer] not to record what he said about Zenk’s condition (that he was ‘pissed’ or impaired or possibly impaired) or what... the ambulance attendant said.”
In another major development, Salhany’s findings would officially spell the end of the much-maligned ESP police detachment. Justice Minister Dave Chomiak announced he was disbanding the local force in favour of the RCMP. “It is clear that the investigation of the accident, conducted by the East St. Paul Police Department, was flawed to such an extent that a successful prosecution of was rendered fatal from the time that Bakema…arrived at the scene,” said Salhany.
Winnipeg police also came under intense scrutiny. Salhany recommended the province set up a special investigative unit to handle all cases of alleged police wrongdoing, to avoid the perception of conflict that clearly existed in this case. “Police officers who are witnesses to criminal activity are not entitled to be treated with kid gloves simply because they are police officers, as the WPS members were treated in this case,” said Salhany. He also took aim at the nearly two dozen police officers who had socialized with Harvey-Zenk in the hours before the crash, first at a Winnipeg restaurant and then later at the home of an officer. He questioned the fact they all claimed to have little recollection of important details from that night.
“I find it difficult to accept that 10 officers in close proximity to one another in [the officer’s] kitchen for a couple of hours would be unable to say whether Harvey-Zenk had too much to drink or were unable to comment on Harvey-Zenk’s condition to drive home after leaving [the officer’s] residence,” said Salhany. “If they were unable to do so, the reason probably lies in the fact the officers had a great deal more to drink at [the officer’s] residence than they were prepared to admit.”
MONDAY APRIL 30, 2012
The finger of blame had been pointed in his direction. Now Harry Bakema would finally have his day in court. An Alberta Crown attorney had been brought in to prosecute Bakema. The former East St. Paul police chief began his trial by pleading not guilty to six criminal charges, including perjury, breach of trust and obstruction of justice.
RCMP Cpl. Chris Blandford, a collision-reconstruction expert, told court he met with Bakema at the scene to discuss what had happened. Blandford said Bakema revealed a police officer had been responsible—and that drunk driving appeared to be the cause.
“He told me [Harvey-Zenk] was impaired; it was an attitude like ‘My God, what was he thinking?’ He was very disappointed that this had occurred and a member of the Winnipeg Police Service was the offender,” said Blandford. Paramedics on the scene of the fatal crash reported smelling alcohol on Harvey-Zenk’s breath, according to testimony at the Taman inquiry. But Bakema later testified he didn’t believe Harvey-Zenk had been drinking.
Blandford said he shared his disappointment with Bakema as they chatted at the scene. He also credited the East St. Paul police for doing a good job in securing the crash site upon his arrival.
TUESDAY MAY 1, 2012
Was it an innocent conversation—or the sign of something nefarious? Details of a face-to-face chat between Harry Bakema and Derek Harvey-Zenk at the scene of a deadly crash were raising new questions. A pair of witnesses to the tragedy told court how they observed Bakema and Harvey-Zenk speaking around the same time firefighters were frantically working on the wreckage of Crystal Taman’s crumpled car.
“They were having words back and forth. That interaction seemed to go on for a while. I wouldn’t say it was a heated conversation,” said Garth Shaw. He was driving into Winnipeg for work that morning when Harvey-Zenk flew by him at high speed and smashed into Taman’s vehicle. “I would say he was doing at least 80 km/h,” said Shaw. He rushed to check on Taman after the crash and realized there was nothing he could do. So he returned to his vehicle to call 911, then watched later as Harvey-Zenk and Bakema walked together to go speak on the side of the road. Shaw said Harvey-Zenk appeared to be walking “slow and deliberate.”
Another witness to the crash told a similar story of seeing the two men chatting as she was being checked out for possible injuries in the back of an ambulance. The woman had been driving a car that was hit by Taman’s after the initial collision.
TUESDAY MAY 8, 2012
His former police colleague had just been involved in a high-speed crash that left an innocent motorist dead. Nevertheless, Harry Bakema seemed to quickly reject suspicion the off-duty officer may have been impaired despite conflicting reports at the scene.
Ken Graham, a former East St. Paul officer, told court he smelled a strong aroma of booze inside Harvey-Zenk’s empty vehicle following the deadly crash, but Bakema didn’t agree. “He stuck his head in and said he couldn’t smell anything,” Graham said. Bakema had personal contact with Harvey-Zenk at the scene and told Graham “he could not smell any alcohol on him.” Graham never dealt with Harvey-Zenk to make his own observations, court was told.
Rolland Fontaine, a paramedic who responded to the crash, previously testified about a “very noticeable” smell of alcohol on Harvey-Zenk. Bakema also told Graham he had worked in the same Winnipeg police district as Harvey-Zenk before Bakema moved to East St. Paul. “He said this is a mess. We have a mother, a wife, who’s been killed. He felt bad for the family and bad for the kids. And he said we have a Winnipeg police member who just screwed up his career,” Graham said. Bakema told Graham he was going to assign another veteran East St. Paul officer to take over the investigation because he didn’t want to create any perception of bias based on his personal history with Harvey-Zenk.
Under cross-examination, Graham said Bakema would not have deliberately sabotaged an investigation. “Harry is not the type of guy to ask someone to change their notes,” Graham said. But he described Bakema as having a very poor memory, which seemed to be getting worse around the time of the fatality.
WEDNESDAY MAY 9, 2012
It was perhaps the most explosive piece of evidence yet. Jason Woychuk, a former constable with the East St. Paul police service, told court he was ordered by his boss, Harry Bakema, to exclude details of suspected impairment in his notes about Derek Harvey-Zenk.
Woychuk said a paramedic at the scene indicated that Harvey-Zenk may have been intoxicated at the time of the tragedy. But Bakema ordered him to keep those details out of his report. “I was told not to put that in my notes. I don’t recall him giving me a reason why,” Woychuk testified. He said Bakema himself indicated that Harvey-Zenk was “impaired, or possibly impaired” as he brought the accused over to his cruiser car and placed him in the backseat.
Woychuk said he was also told by Bakema to write that he was transporting Harvey-Zenk to the ESP police station for the purpose of making a traffic accident report. In reality, he took him back there to be arrested. Woychuk claimed Bakema gave him these instructions in response to Woychuk’s concerns they may have breached Harvey-Zenk’s Charter rights at the scene by detaining him in a cruiser car without any formal charge or caution. “I felt there was probably a Charter breach,” said Woychuk. Woychuk told court how he signed an immunity agreement with RCMP in 2010—only to be arrested months later and threatened with charges including obstruction of justice and perjury. However, no formal charges were ever laid.
Under cross-examination, Woychuk admitted he never observed any signs of impairment on Harvey-Zenk. But he rejected suggestions from defence lawyer Hymie Weinstein that Bakema never commented about possible intoxication or that the paramedic didn’t express an opinion about Harvey-Zenk’s state of sobriety. “[The paramedic] made one of those motions with his hand tipped to the mouth, like he’d been drinking,” said Woychuk. He told court he doesn’t believe the investigation was deliberately botched and agreed with a previous statement given to police in which he said there was “maybe a screw-up, but not a cover-up.”
THURSDAY MAY 10, 2012
An innocent woman had just died, and yet Harry Bakema was allegedly more concerned about the fate of the off-duty Winnipeg officer responsible for her death. Corrine Scott, a retired superintendent of the Winnipeg Police Service, told court about a puzzling call she received from Bakema immediately after the crash. “Harry was really focused on Derek Harvey-Zenk and not on the lady who lost her life. He was very concerned for Derek Harvey-Zenk’s well-being,” Scott told court. “I was honestly a bit disappointed in Harry.”
Bakema called Scott directly from the crash scene, less than an hour after the deadly incident, to warn her about Harvey-Zenk’s involvement in the tragedy. “Harry told me Derek had been drinking, he was at a party and smelled of liquor,” said Scott. She began the process of notifying other senior members of Winnipeg police. “I’ve never experienced an incident before where a member was impaired to the extent of causing this type of accident,” she said.
Harvey-Zenk testified earlier in the day and told court he had no memory of the events surrounding the deadly crash. He was asked numerous questions about the specific details of the case—including socializing at a lounge with fellow off-duty officers, partying at one of their homes overnight and then driving his vehicle directly into Taman’s. But he claimed to only recall vague flashbacks, such as an arm-wrestling contest at the house party and feeling the brunt of the impact. The rest is a foggy blur, he said.
As for his consumption of alcohol prior to the tragedy?
“I don’t have any recollection of that,” he said repeatedly. Harvey-Zenk said he also didn’t recall ever dealing with Bakema, either at the scene of the crash or at the East St. Paul police station. “I don’t really recall being at the police station,” he said. “I don’t recall ever seeing Harry Bakema at the station.”
Harvey-Zenk admitted he previously worked with Bakema in the same Winnipeg police station before Bakema left to pursue the top job in East St. Paul. But he said there was never any personal friendship between them, although he did play in hockey games organized by Bakema.
Winnipeg police patrol Sgt. Cecil Sveinson added to the growing amount of alcohol-related evidence when he repeated testimony he previously gave at the Taman inquiry—that Bakema told him at the scene of the crash Harvey-Zenk was “pissed.”
Sveinson, who was cousin of Taman’s, went to the crash scene to perform a ceremonial smoke ceremony for the victim. He said Bakema added they had to get Harvey-Zenk “out of there right away.”
FRIDAY MAY 11, 2012
He was the police officer left holding the proverbial bag when a high-profile prosecution fell apart. Yet the most senior former member of the East St. Paul police pointed the finger of blame at former chief Harry Bakema for the botched investigation of a deadly car crash. Norm Carter testified as the final Crown witness against Bakema. Carter was a sergeant at the time of the February 2005 incident.
Among Carter’s discoveries were a set of “rough notes” from Bakema that hadn’t been included in disclosure to special prosecutor Marty Minuk. Carter said he also noted Bakema continued to take witness statements despite the fact he wasn’t the lead investigator. “He was chief of police. I didn’t question that,” said Carter, who was later appointed East St. Paul police chief after Bakema was removed.
Bakema’s lawyers tried to pin the blame on Carter, accusing him of making numerous mistakes with the investigation, including failing to get a warrant for a sample of Harvey-Zenk’s blood at the request of the prosecutor. “I maintain to this day I did not feel I had the grounds,” Carter explained. As well, Carter admitted to an “oversight” in not forwarding a traffic reconstruction report to the Crown upon request. He also admitted to inadvertently writing that Harvey-Zenk refused a “blood demand” in his report, when really it was a “breath demand.”
THURSDAY MAY 17, 2012
It had been a compelling legal odyssey that had already cost a woman her life, a Winnipeg police officer his job and a municipal police service its status. Now the only question left to answer was whether the scandal surrounding a fatal car crash would also claim one final victim: the former East St. Paul police chief who headed up the controversial investigation. Harry Bakema sat stone-faced in court as Crown and defence lawyers vigorously debated whether he should be convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice and breach of trust. Provincial court Judge Kelly Moar reserved his decision following a full day of closing arguments.
Both sides presented dramatically different views of Bakema’s role in the case. Crown attorney Ashley Finlayson told court there was no doubt Bakema deliberately overlooked compelling evidence that suggested his former police colleague, Derek Harvey-Zenk, was drunk at the time of the deadly crash. “Harry Bakema took no further meaningful steps to investigate Derek Harvey-Zenk. One can only speculate what might have happened after that,” said Finlayson.
Bakema’s lawyer, Hymie Weinstein, argued the Crown had failed to prove there was any criminal intent on behalf of his client. He suggested several former police officers who testified at the trial were either mistaken or misleading the truth about what happened. At worst, Bakema was guilty of making unintentional errors, he said. “What was done was not done for any criminal intent,” said Weinstein. He argued other East St. Paul officers were also negligent in how they handled the case. Weinstein also pointed to the words of Bakema in a 2010 interview with the RCMP while urging Moar to find him not guilty.
“This was not an intentional cover-up to protect a Winnipeg member. I was not covering up impaired symptoms of Zenk. I did my job. I tried to make sure everyone does their job. I did not botch the investigation intentionally. I wouldn’t throw my name away for nobody,” Bakema had said.
Weinstein took issue with the testimony of several witnesses, who had painted an ugly picture of Bakema’s role in the investigation. The decision was now in the judge’s hands.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2013
A memorial still sits at the intersection of Lagimodiere Boulevard and the Perimeter Highway, serving as a constant reminder of a horror that unfolded more than eight years ago. Now, the family at the centre of the ongoing legal saga admitted they’d grown tired of fighting for justice after what may be the final chapter played out in a Winnipeg courtroom.
“It’s time to move on,” a clearly frustrated Robert Taman said outside the downtown courthouse. “We’re done.” Moments earlier, he had watched Harry Bakema walk free of any criminal wrongdoing for his role in the botched investigation surrounding the death of Taman’s wife, Crystal. It was a decision Taman expected. But it didn’t make it any easier to stomach. “Let’s just say justice takes two steps backwards today,” said Taman. “I think when we all look at everything that took place over the last 8 1/2 years, it’s pretty clear.”
Bakema, now 62, was found not guilty of perjury, obstruction of justice and criminal breach of trust. Provincial court Judge Kelly Moar said there was no doubt Bakema made several terrible decisions that fateful day “which he will have to live with the rest of his life.” But he ruled the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt Bakema intentionally sabotaged the case.
Taman’s said it was “ridiculous” it took Moar 18 months to come up with the verdict. “Everyone should be embarrassed by that amount of time,” he said. Now the family planned to focus on the future and hoped nobody else would endure what they had. “When it comes to matters like this, we’ve learned that what’s clear to the general public is sometimes foggy to the people that make the decisions and create our laws,” said Taman.
I am a firm believer that every would-be driver should have to sit in at least one sentencing hearing for an impaired driver before they obtain their licence. The raw emotion that is present in every courtroom would impact them in a way that advertising campaigns simply cannot. Because let’s face it: The current model is simply not working. Not enough drivers are getting the message. Increased sentences don’t seem to be changing behaviour. And there’s certainly no shortage of public awareness on the issue.
Yet the tragedies continue to mount. And the roadside memorials—like the one that still exists to this day for Crystal Taman—continue to pile up.