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Wednesday, April 13, 2011
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Thornthwaite pleads to lesser charge than drunk driving Jane Seyd
jseyd@nsnews.com
NORTH Vancouver-Seymour MLA Jane Thornthwaite will not be stuck with a criminal record after she pleaded guilty in court to a Motor Vehicle Act offence, rather than a criminal charge, in connection with her drunk driving arrest during last yearâs Winter Olympic Games. Thornthwaite, 52, was originally charged with driving with a blood alcohol level over .08 after she was stopped in a North Vancouver RCMP roadblock just before 1 a.m. Feb. 23 while driving home from an Olympic party. In North Vancouver provincial court Tuesday, Thornthwaite instead entered a plea to the less serious Motor Vehicle Act charge of driving without due care and attention. Thornthwaite was sentenced to a $500 ďŹne and a one-month driving prohibition. In court, special prosecutor Mark Jette said Thornthwaite was stopped just before 1 a.m. at a roadblock near the Main Street overpass that night. The constable who pulled Thornthwaite over detected an odour of liquor in the car, he said. Thornthwaite subsequently blew a âfailâ reading on the See MLA page 4
Double the bargains
NEWS photo Mike WakeďŹeld
TWINS Eloise and Sam Boon, age 14 months, and Daniel and Carter Devlin, six months, gear up for the annual North Shore Mothers of Multiples kidsâ stuff sale, Saturday, April 16, 9:30 a.m.-noon at St. Davidâs United Church, 1525 Taylor Way, West Vancouver. Clothing, toys and more will be up for sale. Admission for adults: $2.
WV police investigate tasering of boy B.C. Civil Liberties opposes police investigating police in such cases
James Weldon
jweldon@nsnews.com
RIGHTS advocates are raising the alarm over a decision to send West Vancouver police to investigate the controversial tasering of an 11-year-old boy by RCMP in Prince George.
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association said the move, announced by the RCMP Friday, was a step up from an internal investigation by the Prince George detachment, but would do little to allay public
misgivings about the objectivity of the process. The incident in question unfolded around 5:30 p.m. Thursday when members of the Prince George detachment were dispatched to a home in response to a reported stabbing. When the ofďŹcers arrived, they found a 37-year-old man suffering from stab wounds, having allegedly been attacked by the young suspect, who had by then ďŹed. The ofďŹcers searched the area and ultimately found the 11-year-old in a neighbouring house. They coaxed him outside, at which point one of the ofďŹcers tasered him, according to the RCMP. The boy was taken into custody and transported to hospital for assessment. He and the older victim are both expected to recover. Itâs not clear what motivated the use of the stun weapon. As is becoming increasingly common practice with use-of-force incidents, the RCMP detachment called on a municipal force, in this case West Vancouverâs, to look into the case. On Sunday, two
WVPD investigators and two communications ofďŹcers ďŹew to the interior community to conduct interviews and establish the details of the incident. Their ďŹndings will be forwarded to West Vancouver Chief Const. Peter Lepine, who will recommend what action, if any, to take against the ofďŹcer involved. David Eby, executive director of the BCCLA, said bringing in investigators from a different police force isnât good enough, since the arrangement leaves room for the perception of tit-for-tat arrangements between the RCMP and municipal forces. Rather, the province should create a civilian investigative body to deal with such matters. âUntil they address the core issue of police investigating themselves, weâre going to be stuck in this situation where the public doesnât have conďŹdence,â said Eby. âWeâre glad they appear to be See Investigation page 5
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