Former East St. Paul police chief Harry Bakema swears in before answering questions from inquiry counsel David Paciocco during the inquest into Crystal Taman's death being held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre on Monday, July 14, 2008. Taman was killed in a crash with off-duty police officer Derek Harvey-Zenk north of Winnipeg in February 2005. Charges against Harvey-Zenk initially included impaired driving causing death and refusing a breathalyzer.Jason Halstead/The Canadian Press
A former police chief in a bedroom community north of Winnipeg has been charged with perjury and obstructing justice in an alleged attempt to cover up for a fellow officer who caused a deadly car crash.
Harry Bakema, 58, is also charged with criminal breach of trust. It's the latest twist in a case that saw several police officers in East St. Paul accused in a public inquiry of helping one of their own escape justice in the death of Crystal Taman.
"We've been through a lot as a family over the years and we've seen what the system can do," Ms. Taman's husband, Robert, said Wednesday. "We're just happy it's taking this direction."
Mr. Bakema was the top cop in East St. Paul in February, 2005, when Derek Harvey-Zenk, an off-duty Winnipeg constable who had previously worked with Mr. Bakema, plowed his pickup truck into the back of Ms. Taman's car at a red light.
Mr. Harvey-Zenk had been out all night partying with fellow officers, and was originally charged with a host of offences, including impaired driving causing death.
But due to a lack of evidence, most of the charges were eventually dropped and Mr. Harvey-Zenk was sentenced to two years of house arrest for dangerous driving causing death.
Minutes after the crash, Mr. Bakema was on the scene. An ambulance attendant reported smelling alcohol on Mr. Harvey-Zenk's breath, but Mr. Bakema did not. He did not ask Mr. Harvey-Zenk whether he had been drinking, or conduct a sobriety test.
Mr. Bakema later admitted at a public inquiry that he helped Mr. Harvey-Zenk walk back to a police cruiser instead of seeing whether Mr. Harvey-Zenk could walk on his own.
A fellow East St. Paul officer told the inquiry Mr. Bakema told him not to mention in his notes that the ambulance attendant had noticed the smell of alcohol. Another officer testified Mr. Bakema ordered him to change his notes.
Mr. Bakema denied those accusations when he took the stand. It is his testimony at the inquiry that is at the centre of the perjury allegation.
The lawyer who led the inquiry, David Paciocco, called what happened a "colossal failure of justice." He also blamed several police officers who had been partying with Mr. Harvey-Zenk - first at a restaurant, then at one officer's home. They testified that they could not recall how much alcohol Mr. Harvey-Zenk had consumed. The officer who hosted the party, Constable Sean Black, told the inquiry he was too busy trying to fix a popcorn machine to notice what anybody else was drinking.
After sunrise, Mr. Harvey-Zenk left the house party and headed home, crashing into Ms. Taman's car under a clear sky with good road conditions.
Mr. Bakema told the public inquiry that honest mistakes were made in the investigation because the small police force was overwhelmed in dealing with a chaotic accident scene during a morning rush hour.
Mr. Bakema was removed from his job and became a real estate agent. He is due in court Jan. 5.
Because Mr. Bakema was a police officer, RCMP from British Columbia were brought in to investigate him. They laid charges Wednesday after consulting with Crown attorneys in Alberta.