Ex-sergeant admits mistake in Native man's death

Wednesday, January 9, 2008  

A former police sergeant admitted he made a mistake the night he told officers to remove a Native man who later died in an alley in Vancouver, British Columbia.

But Russell Sanderson refused to apologize for his actions on December 5, 1998. He stood by his decision to remove Frank Paul, who was Mi'kmaq from New Brunswick, from the "drunk tank" at the police station.

Sanderson instead said he should have given more explicit instructions to the officer who took Paul out of the station. Paul was dumped in an alley on a cold, rainy night.

"He died of hypothermia and acute alcohol poisoning hours after you saw him," the attorney for Paul's family asked, The Vancouver Province reported. "Do you still think you were not wrong about him?"

Sanderson responded: "No."

Get the Story:
Former cop didn't know drunken native man was homeless, inquiry told (CBC 1/8)
Former sergeant says he failed to give rookie proper instructions (The Globe and Mail 1/8)
I made a mistake: Sergeant (The Vancouver Province 1/9)

Relevant Documents:
Frank Joseph Paul: REASONS FOR DECISION (January 20, 2004)

Relevant Links:
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs - http://www.ubcic.bc.ca

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B.C. First Nations demand inquiry into man's death (3/22)
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