No memory of fatal crash: Harvey-Zenk

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Derek Harvey-Zenk (right) leaves the Manitoba Law Courts after giving his testimony at a criminal trial against Harry Bakema. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

A former Winnipeg police officer claims he has no memory of the events surrounding a deadly highway crash which became the focus of several judicial inquiries.

Derek Harvey-Zenk took the witness stand Thursday morning to testify at the trial of Harry Bakema.

Bakema, 60, has pleaded not guilty to six criminal charges, including perjury, breach of trust and obstruction of justice, which stem from his role in the investigation of the 2005 death of Crystal Taman. The married mother of three was killed after her convertible was rear-ended by Harvey-Zenk while she waited at a red light near Lagimodiere Boulevard and the Perimeter Highway. Harvey-Zenk was on his way home from a night drinking with fellow officers.

Harvey-Zenk, 38, later pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of dangerous driving causing death and was given a conditional sentence. The failure of East. St. Paul police to properly document indications Harvey-Zenk was impaired is one of the reasons the case crumbled and alcohol-related charges were dropped by the Crown. That issue was the primary focus of a damning 2008 public inquiry which ultimately led to Bakema's arrest. The inquiry concluded the crash investigation was "riddled with incompetence" and "conducted in bad faith."

Harvey-Zenk was asked numerous questions Thursday about the specific details of the case – including socializing at a lounge with fellow off-duty officers, partying at one of their homes overnight and then driving his vehicle directly into Taman’s.

But he claimed to only recall vague flashbacks, such as an arm wrestling contest at the house party and feeling the brunt of the impact. The rest is a foggy blur, he says.

As for his consumption of alcohol prior to the tragedy?

"I don’t have any recollection of that," he said repeatedly.

Harvey-Zenk says he also doesn’t recall ever dealing with Bakema, either at the scene of the crash or back at the East St. Paul police station.

"I don’t really recall being at the police station," he said. "I don’t recall ever seeing Harry Bakema at the station."

Harvey-Zenk admitted he previously worked with Bakema in the same Winnipeg police station before Bakema left to pursue the top job in East St. Paul. But he said there was never any personal friendship between them, although he did play in hockey games organized by Bakema.

Earlier Thursday, Winnipeg police patrol sergeant Cecil Sveinson repeated testimony he previously gave at the Taman inquiry – that Bakema told him at the scene of the crash that Harvey-Zenk was "pissed."

Sveinson – who is a cousin of Taman’s – attended the crash scene to perform a ceremonial smoke ceremony for the victim. He says Bakema added they had to get Harvey-Zenk "out of there right away."

His testimony comes on the heels of several other officers who have given evidence about possible alcohol involvement.

Jason Woychuk, a former constable with the ESP service, told court Wednesday that he was ordered by Bakema to exclude details of Harvey-Zenk’s suspected impairment in his notes. Woychuk says a paramedic at the scene indicated that Harvey-Zenk may have been intoxicated at the time of the crash. But Bakema ordered him to keep those details out of his report.

"I was told not to put that in my notes. I don't recall him giving me a reason why," Woychuk testified. He said Bakema himself indicated that Harvey-Zenk was "impaired, or possibly impaired" as he brought the accused over to his cruiser car and placed him in the backseat.

Woychuk said he was also told by Bakema to write that he was transporting Harvey-Zenk to the ESP police station for the purpose of making a traffic accident report. In reality, he took him back there to be arrested. Woychuk claims Bakema gave him these instructions in response to Woychuk's concerns they may have breached Harvey-Zenk's Charter rights at the scene by detaining him in a cruiser car without any formal charge or caution.

The trial has previously heard testimony from another officer about how Bakema seemed to quickly reject suspicion Harvey-Zenk may have been impaired despite evidence to the contrary. Ken Graham, a former East St. Paul officer, told court Tuesday he smelled a strong aroma of booze inside Harvey-Zenk's empty vehicle following the deadly crash, but Bakema didn't agree.

"He stuck his head in and said he couldn't smell anything," Graham said. Bakema had personal contact with Harvey-Zenk at the scene and told Graham "he could not smell any alcohol on him." Graham never dealt with Harvey-Zenk to make his own observations, court was told.

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