Cop denies duty to safeguard gun

Mountie seeks to quash teen's suit

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The lawyer for the RCMP officer facing a civil suit — after his service pistol was allegedly stolen and used to shoot 16-year-old Winnipeg high school girl Calli Vanderaa last fall — filed a legal rebuttal in Court of Queen’s Bench this week. But it wasn’t the expected statement of defence.

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Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/03/2016 (3489 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The lawyer for the RCMP officer facing a civil suit — after his service pistol was allegedly stolen and used to shoot 16-year-old Winnipeg high school girl Calli Vanderaa last fall — filed a legal rebuttal in Court of Queen’s Bench this week. But it wasn’t the expected statement of defence.

It was a notice of motion to have the suit tossed.

With costs to the joint plaintiffs.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files
Calli Vanderaa was shot with a firearm stolen from an off-duty Mountie’s vehicle.
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Calli Vanderaa was shot with a firearm stolen from an off-duty Mountie’s vehicle.

The plaintiffs being Calli, the severely wounded victim, and Corey Vanderaa, the single father who took weeks off his truck-driving job to look after her.

On what grounds does lawyer Anthony Lafontaine Guerra argue the suit against Sgt. Chris McCuen should be struck out? According to notice of motion McCuen “does not owe the Vanderaas” “a prima facie private law duty of care,” and the relationship between the veteran Mountie and the girl and her father “does not establish a special and direct relationship of proximity that is required to establish a private law duty of care”

Hence, the suit has “no reasonable cause of action” and “no reasonable prospect of succeeding on the issue of negligence.”

What does all of that mean?

Well, the way I read it, it means McCuen is not negligent because he owes no duty to the public at large to safely secure his firearm. In other words, the veteran police officer wasn’t to blame if — as alleged in the lawsuit — he left a semi-automatic pistol in the back seat of an RCMP cruiser parked in front of his southeast Winnipeg home. It was stolen from the vehicle. And Calli was shot with the weapon the same night as she sat attempting to hide from the assailant, huddled in a car outside the Windsor Park convenience store she and a girlfriend had just left.

By extension, McCuen’s lawyer contends his client is not to blame for the “life-threatening and major injuries” and the post-traumatic stress” the lawsuit contends Calli suffered as a result of the bullet that ripped through her ribs, lung, spleen and colon, narrowly missing her spine.

The Vanderaas’ civil suit begs to differ, of course.

It contends by allegedly leaving the gun in an insecure manner, McCuen “violated police policy, common sense and safety regulations.” The “protection of the firearm and its securing is fundamental to any trained officer,” the suit says. It further states by not following police policy on the safe storage of firearms, his actions were wilful, reckless, dangerous and negligent.

Calli turned 17 last month.

While she finally returned to school after the Christmas break, the suit states she continues to suffer from both the psychological and physiological consequences of the incident.

“She will suffer for a lifetime,” the suit states.

Two men, Matthew Wilfred McKay, 22, and Matthew Andrew Miles, 25, face numerous charges.

As for Sgt. McCuen, five months later, the traffic-accident-reconstruction unit member remains on active duty, according to an RCMP spokesman who answered a series of questions on the case via email Wednesday. The spokesman also confirmed something the civil suit contends.

“RCMP policies and training make it clear that a duty firearm is to be secured and rendered inoperable when stored. Whether or not the firearm in this case was properly stored is a question that will be answered by the independent criminal investigation being carried out by the WPS.”

Could McCuen face a disciplinary hearing?

“Once we receive the investigative report,” the spokesman answered, “we will carry out our own internal investigation, and if proper procedures were not followed, appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken.”

So what, you’re no doubt wondering, is the status of the Winnipeg police investigation into McCuen’s responsibility?

“The investigation involving Calli Vanderaa is complete,” the WPS stated in an email last month. “The major-crimes unit is in the process of disclosing the file to justice officials to determine whether criminal charges are warranted. We expect to hear back from the justice officials once they have completed their review.”

On Wednesday, police said there was no update to report.

In any event, maybe after all of the investigations are over, and the legal matters, civil and criminal, are decided, Calli and Corey Vanderaa will receive what they want from Chris McCuen more than anything else.

A visit.

And an apology.

gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca

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