"Sask policemen found guilty of unlawful confinement in controversial case"

SASKATOON (CP) - Two police officers accused of dumping a man on the outskirts of the city on a freezing January night last year were found guilty Thursday of unlawful confinement but acquitted on assault charges.

Dan Hatchen and Ken Munson, both veteran Saskatoon police constables, showed no emotion when the verdicts were announced. They quickly left the courthouse and got into cars without commenting.

Hatchen and Munson arrested Darrell Night for causing a disturbance and later forced him out of their cruiser near a power station on the early morning of Jan. 28, 2000, when temperatures dipped to -22 C.

Night told the court he came forward after he heard another man was found frozen to death near where he was dropped off. Both officers admitted leaving Night at the outskirts of the city, but their lawyers argued the act, although misguided, was not criminal.

They said Night pleaded to be released and asked them to drop him off anywhere. Night said Thursday he was still haunted by the incident.

"I did nothing to deserve the nightmares I've had since that night and the ongoing anxiety and apprehension I feel now whenever I see a police car," Night said after the verdict came down.

"The conviction of these two officers is a start, but nobody has been able to tell me why this happened or even how it could happen in our country - a country that says it values human rights of all citizens.

"We need a public inquiry to address all these issues so none suffers as I have," he said. Marji Pratt-Turo, an aboriginal activist who attended the trial, said a conviction on one of the two charges was better than nothing.

"Half a cup of hot tea on a cold day is better none," she said.

"It's a court of law, not a court of justice, and finding them guilty on at least one count was a saving grace." Crown prosecutor Bill Burge was pleased with the verdict.

"I hope it sends a message in an arrest situation that the provisions of the Criminal Code should be followed," he said. Defence lawyers Bill Roe and Morris Bodnar both said they were already looking at grounds for appeal.

"I think in a jury case you always look at the judges charge, that would be the first place that you would look, said Roe, who represented Hatchen during the trial.

"There was (also) an evidentiary ruling made during the trial that may or may not be grounds for an appeal."

Bodnar also said there were many grounds for an appeal.

"There are many dealing with the charge to the jury, the rulings during the trial and even the pre-trial ruling," he said.

Justice Eugene Scheibel ruled a tape of a series of 911 calls Night made several nights after he was dropped off was inadmissible at the trial. He also dismissed an application by the defence to have the trial moved from Saskatoon. Al Stickney, president of the Saskatoon City Police Association, hoped the officers would have a chance to keep their jobs, despite the conviction.

"For them this appears to be an isolated offence," he said.

"There's certainly nothing in any of their work history to suggest they've done anything like this before and there's always some room for salvaging a career."

The officers still face an internal disciplinary hearing.

The seven men and five women on the all-white jury took 14 hours to reach their verdict. The officers will be sentenced on Oct. 30.

Night claimed he was thrown into the cruiser after he was arrested and banged his head on the door frame when he was pulled out near a power station at the edge of the city.

Night also said the officers swore and called him an Indian. The officers denied the claim. In his closing address, Roe said the officers made a mistake, but it wasn't criminal.

"Two police officers in a moment of weakness made an error in judgment," he said.

Burge agreed Night was rude and belligerent and the officers had the right to arrest him.

But when the officers decided to drive him out of town instead of to the police station, Burge said their actions became illegal.

"They deviated from what the Criminal Code tells them what to do and did what they wanted to do," he said.

"At that point the confinement of Darrell Night became unlawful because they're not taking him to the police station." The case almost didn't make it to the jury.

Last week, after the Crown finished presenting its case, the impartiality of one of the jurors was questioned, raising the possibility of a mistrial.

But Scheibel said there was no problem and the case continued. The jury was chosen from a pool of about 125 people. Potential jurors were asked five questions regarding what they had heard about the case and what influence race might have upon them.