Neil stone child biography sample
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P-38) by Order-in-Council O.C. 114/2003 on February 19, 2003, with the appointment announced publicly by Saskatchewan Justice Minister Eric Cline on February 20, 2003.[21][6] The Honourable Mr. Justice David H. Wright of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench was appointed as commissioner, tasked with leading an independent judicial inquiry.[22][6] To support operations, the commission assembled an investigative team including retired RCMP officer Robert Martell for witness interviews and an "Issues Team" formed in July 2003, comprising Deputy Chief Dan Wiks and other experts on police practices.[6]The terms of reference directed the commission to examine the circumstances surrounding Stonechild's death on November 24-25, 1990, including any police contacts with him that night, the Saskatoon Police Service's (SPS) initial investigation, and subsequent reviews by the SPS and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).[6] It was authorized to assess the administration of criminal justice in Saskatchewan related to these events but explicitly barred from assigning civil or criminal liability or opining on ongoing prosecutions.[6] Hearings were to be public unless in-camera sessions were deemed necessary, with the commissioner holding discretion over procedural rules, evidence admissibility, and funding for participant counsel.[6]Proceedings commenced with applications for standing and funding, due April 24, 2003, and heard on April 30, 2003, resulting in rulings on May 13, 2003, granting status to parties including Stonechild's family, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, SPS representatives, and certain witnesses such as Constables Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger.[6] Public hearings began in Saskatoon on September 8, 2003, and concluded on May 19, 2004, spanning 43 days across multiple phases: September 4-25 and October 6-22, 2003; January 5-9 and March 9-18, 2004.[22][6] The commission heard testimony from 64 witnesses, generating 8,506 pages of transcript and 197 exhibits, covering topics from eyewitness accounts to expert analyses on hypothermia and police procedures.[22][6]Key procedural rulings addressed challenges such as a June 9, 2003, application to disqualify counsel for conflict of interest (denied initially but leading to disqualification of certain lawyers on July 2, 2003), rejection of polygraphevidence as inadmissible on September 4, 2003, and debates over expert qualifications, including memory specialist W.J.
Arnold's testimony in March 2004.[6] Closing submissions were guided by rules issued March 18, 2004, with written briefs due May 14, 2004, and limited oral arguments thereafter.[6] The flexible evidentiary standards allowed hearsay where relevant, prioritizing inquiry goals over strict courtroom rules.[6]
Presented Evidence and Testimonies
The Stonechild Inquiry presented evidence from 63 witnesses over 43 days of public hearings, including family members, friends, civilians, police officers, and expert analysts, focusing on Neil Stonechild's activities and interactions on the night of November 24-25, 1990, his potential police custody, and physical condition upon discovery.[5] Testimonies detailed two disturbances reported that evening: one at a 7-Eleven involving Stonechild giving a false name, and another at Snowberry Downs apartments around 11:49 p.m., where witnesses described him as intoxicated and disruptive.[6]Family testimonies emphasized Stonechild's last confirmed sightings and post-discovery observations.No. 39 calls upon the federal government to develop a national plan to collect and publish data on the criminal victimization of Aboriginal people, and No. 38 calls upon all levels of government to commit to eliminating the over-representation of Aboriginal youth in custody over the next decade. On the night of his disappearance, he was the subject of a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest on a charge of being Unlawfully At Large from a community home.
Stonechild's friend Jason Roy was with Stonechild the night of his death.
“We have come a long way in 15 years but there is always room for improvement,” Dutch Lerat, the Vice Chief for the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, told APTN. to the Snowberry Downs area in response to a complaint about a disturbed youth matching Neil Stonechild's description, who was reported as intoxicated, yelling, and banging on vehicles.[6] The officers located Stonechild by 11:56 p.m.
These included reviewing The Coroner’s Act for better death investigations; establishing recruitment programs for Aboriginal and minority candidates at the Saskatchewan Police College; creating an advisory board to boost First Nations hiring in municipal forces; enhancing public complaint procedures with accessible forms; designating Aboriginal liaison officers as community ombudsmen; requiring annual police reports on complaint dispositions to the Minister of Justice; mandating in-depth race relations and Aboriginal cultural training for officers with triennial refreshers; and revising training in anger management and dispute resolution.[23] The report, delivered in September 2004 and publicly released on October 26, 2004, prompted an apology from Saskatoon Police Service leadership for investigative shortcomings, though no criminal charges were laid against the officers due to insufficient evidence for prosecution beyond the inquiry's scope.[11]
Controversies and Debates
Criticisms of Police Conduct
The Stonechild Inquiry, concluding in 2004, determined that the Saskatoon Police Service's initial investigation into Neil Stonechild's death on November 29, 1990, was "totally inadequate" and marked by significant oversights, including a failure to thoroughly pursue leads on his custody status despite evidence he had been detained by officers Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger shortly before his disappearance.[24][25] Investigating officer Sergeant Keith Jarvis prematurely closed the file as accidental hypothermia after just days of minimal inquiry, dismissing reports from two fellow officers indicating Stonechild had been in custody and showing wrist marks consistent with handcuffs, without further forensic follow-up or witness interviews.[25]Discrepancies in police custody logs were a focal point of criticism, with the inquiry finding that Hartwig and Senger had taken Stonechild into custody around 1:00 a.m.on November 24, 1990, Constable Brad Senger performed a query on the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) computer system for the names "Tracy Horse" and Tracy Lee Horse", the false name provided by Jason Roy. Three minutes later, at 11:59 p.m., Constable Senger performed a CPIC query for the name “Neil Stonechild". In 2003, Genaille told the inquiry that there had been nobody in the back of the cruiser at the time.
At 11:56 p.m.
“I don’t even know if this has been told publicly,” says Chris. on November 24.[8][6] No verified sightings of Stonechild occurred after this point.[8]
Discovery and Initial Assessment
On November 29, 1990, two construction workers discovered the frozen body of 17-year-old Neil Stonechild in a field in the northwest industrial area of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.[6][2] The body was found face down, partially clothed, and missing one shoe, in sub-zero temperatures consistent with the late November weather.[7] Stonechild, a SaulteauxFirst Nations youth from the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, had last been reported in police custody earlier that month, but initial reports did not immediately connect the discovery to recent interactions.[9]Saskatoon Police Service officers responded to the scene, securing the area and identifying the deceased through records as Neil Stonechild, who had been arrested for causing a disturbance on November 24, 1990.[10] The initial police assessment treated the death as non-suspicious, attributing it to exposure in the harsh prairie winter, with no immediate evidence of violence or third-party involvement noted at the site.[11] An autopsy conducted shortly after discovery confirmed hypothermia as the probable cause of death, with preliminary findings indicating no significant injuries, natural diseases, or external factors that would suggest foul play; toxicology results showed negligible alcohol levels insufficient to explain the outcome.[12][13] The case was preliminarily classified as an accidental death due to environmental exposure, leading to a brief investigation that concluded without further probes into potential custodial links.[11]Initial Investigation and Response
Police Custody and Handling
On the evening of November 24, 1990, Saskatoon Police Service constables Bradley Senger and Lawrence Hartwig were dispatched at 11:51 p.m.Constables Bradley Senger and Larry Hartwig, dispatched to Snowberry Downs at 11:51 p.m.
The starlight tours continue to have ripple effects and impact relations between Indigenous peoples and police. Genaille testified at the Wright inquiry that there had been nobody in the back of the cruiser when Hartwig and Senger questioned him.
His body was found, with one shoe missing, on November 29 by two construction workers.
Roy said he had seen his friend in the back of a police cruiser. Evidence to the contrary was presented. and arrived in the area shortly thereafter.[8]Around 11:56 p.m., Roy encountered the officers on Confederation Drive; he later testified consistently across multiple statements, including to police on November 30, 1990, and during the 2004 inquiry, that he observed Stonechild in the rear of their cruiser, handcuffed with apparent fresh blood on his face, yelling and cursing for help while claiming the officers intended to kill him.[8][6]Roy provided a false name ("Tracy Lee Horse") to avoid his own warrant, prompting a Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) query at 11:56 p.m.[8] A subsequent CPIC check specifically on "Neil Stonechild" occurred at 11:59 p.m., confirming an outstanding warrant for his arrest as he was unlawfully at large from a community correctional facility.[8][6]The officers cleared the Snowberry Downs call at 12:17 a.m.
The report concluded that Stonechild had been picked up by the police shortly before he died on the outskirts of the city. However, it was not until February 2003, following the deaths of Lloyd Dustyhorn, Rodney Naistus, and Lawrence Wegner in January and February 2000, and in the wake of allegations by Darrell Night that he was forced out of a police cruiser at the edge of the city on the night of January 28, 2000, that the provincial government finally agreed to demands for an inquiry into Stonechild’s death.
On October 26, 2004, the provincial government released its report, noting there was clear evidence that Stonechild had been in police custody on the night of his death, and criticizing senior levels of the Saskatoon police force for conducting a superficial and defensive investigation of Stonechild’s death. Chris recalls when his sister told him that Neil had died.
They fight back against assumptions made about the intoxication of the victim versus the real possibility of foul play.
Fifteen years later after the inquiry
The image of Neil Stonechild’s body lying in a frozen field still haunts the prairies.