Tuesday, July 13, 2004

It started with a call for medical help, and ended with a 33-year-old father
dead, shot three times by a police officer who [claimed he] feared for his life as the distraught man [allegedly] rushed toward him with a crowbar and steel pipe, Saanich police said Monday.

Dead is Majencio Daugdaug Camaso, an immigrant from the Philippines. He was  employed, married and the father of a daughter. Camaso was shot three times in the chest by Const. Kris Dukeshire, also 33, in the parking lot of
Richmond elementary school on Sunday morning.

Witnesses to the shooting included paramedics, people walking to a nearby
church and two other police officers who also had service revolvers drawn on Camaso. It is the first fatal police shooting in Saanich since 1984, and the
third fatal police shooting in B.C. this year.

Saanich police revealed details of the shooting at a media briefing Monday
and defended the lethal level of force used.

Dukeshire, with the Saanich police since April, believed his life was in
danger and that no other options were open to him, Const. Chris Horsley
said.

Police are authorized to use lethal force if they believe either they, or
someone nearby, is in danger of death of grievous harm.

[Let's be absolutely clear: EVERYONE is "authorized" at common law to use lethal force if they believe they or someone nearby is in danger of death or grievous bodily harm, and section 34 of the Criminal Code of Canada expresses that ancient right!!!

What does his being a "Police officer" [a legal fiction] have to do with anything? Police officers MAY arguably have =equal= rights to individuals, but there is no [coherent] means at law for them to receive more rights that natural persons - excepting, of course, for military and/or police states, where such practices are used for instilling public fear and intimidation over the governed, and are in any event, illusory and false expressions of Power generated Privileges - NOT RIGHTS.

Clearly we now see the standard for what is an acceptable criteria for all of us in the event we too need to act in "self defence", which is an unalienable right of all individuals.]

Police became involved at 9:01 a.m. Sunday with a series of calls between
911 operators and the Camaso home.

An upset woman called 911 and said her husband was out of control and needed
medical attention, Horsley said. Neighbours have said the man's wife had
just left him, and he was distraught.

The call was transferred to the B.C. Ambulance Service, but the caller hung
up. The ambulance service called Saanich police, notifying them of an
abandoned 911 call from an apartment in the 1700-block of Newton Street.

Saanich police called the number. A woman answered, but didn't talk. They
could hear a young child crying in the background. A male voice came on the
line, Horsley said, asking what police wanted and then hung up the phone.

Both police and the ambulance service went to the apartment, with lights and
sirens on. They were worried by what they found.

The apartment was empty, but there was a small fire in the kitchen and
gasoline poured on the living room carpets.

Police went to a nearby apartment, where they were told the female caller
was.

But before they could talk with her, ambulance personnel called them
outside. A man had returned to the apartment, believed to be the husband
referred to in the original 911 call.

He fled, running to nearby Richmond elementary school, followed by three
officers and several paramedics.

[So the officers were actually chasing the suspect.]

The man ran to the back of a white Mazda 626 parked at the school, and
rummaged in the trunk. As he did this, the three police officers --
Dukeshire, Const. Tara McNeil and Const. Kathleen Murphy -- drew their guns,
Horsley said.

[It should be noted that the Sannich Police department has access to: taser weapons; as well as "high potency pepper spray" [so strong it is not legal for the public, and the same strength as that used to scare a charging bear]; hardwood and/or metal batons [ which they are trained to use as part of their officer training]; heavy metal flashlights [MAG-lites] which were deemed so potentially lethal by the BC Government that security guards were banned from using them; aggressively trained police dogs - which are on constant 24 hour call for active duty.]

Photo shows example 26 inch metal expandable "nightstick" often carried by police, in place of, or in addition to, their standard issue 24 inch wooden or plastic baton. 

 

He said Camaso came out with a two-foot [24inch] crowbar steel pipe and 15-inch crowbar.

[Three officers with 24 to 26 inch nightsticks, pepper spray, and heavy metal flashlights were no match for the 5 ft 2 inch, 130 lb. Majencio Camaso.

So how is one lone civilian to lawfully act if faced with a similar weapon from an attacker? By none other than your right to carry a handgun [which is superiour, not inferior, to their claimed right.] Is your life worth any less than a servant of the Crown? To assume such is a violation of Rule of Law, which is alleged to be the Supreme Law in Canada.]

Clearly the police believe [and fully support the idea] that handguns were/are the ONLY reasonable defence to such an attack, even when you happen to outnumber your opponent 3 to one.

This is now the common standard of law in Canada, in conjunction with the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that we have a RIGHT to carry a concealed weapon for the lawful purpose of self defence - which they confirmed is an unalienable and common law right of ALL citizens; and stated that even those in prison have this absolute right.]

"With both items in his upraised arms and from a distance of less than 50
feet, he charged towards the police officers and ambulance members in a
rapid, combative and threatening manner," Horsley said.

The officers all had their guns drawn.

"The suspect charged directly at Const. Dukeshire, still brandishing both weapons," Horsley said.

Dukeshire tried to retreat and gain distance to protect himself and the other officers, but the man didn't stop, Horsley said.

Both Dukeshire and one of the two female officers with him yelled commands at Camaso, Horsley said.

Dukeshire fired three times, and all three bullets hit Camaso in the upper chest.

"(Camaso) may have been as close as one metre when Const. Dukeshire fired. He waited and tried to give as much of the benefit of the doubt to this individual," Horsley said.

Some witnesses are questioning why police couldn't stop the man when he went to the back of the car and rummaged in the trunk, and question how much of a threat a man with two crowbars could have been to three armed police officers.

Horsley said the man didn't stop when given repeated chances to do so, and that these charged situations demand split-second decisions.

Questions have also been raised about why a Taser gun -- a less-lethal option where electrical voltage is zapped through a person's body via a dart, usually rendering them incapable of moving -- wasn't used. The officers were not equipped with a Taser, although one was en route with a supervisor.

Even if a Taser had been on site, it wasn't the appropriate use of force needed for the situation, Horsley said. As well, the Taser has a 10 to 14 per cent failure rate, is best in a contained area as opposed to a school field, and must be deployed from within two metres.

 

[Sannich Police Spokesman Horsley, at left,  justified and supported fatal shooting at press conference.]

 

 

All three officers are on paid leave.

Dukeshire has been with Saanich police since April. Before that, he was with Winnipeg police for two years, and also served with the Canadian Armed Forces, 2 PPCLI, for four years, where he participated on a United Nations peacekeeping tour to Bosnia.

As with all police shootings of people being arrested or in custody, a coroner's inquest is mandatory. That likely won't occur for at least six or seven months.

[I will bet any amount of money that the coroner's inquest will find NO FAULT in the fatal shooting. YOU HAVE AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT AND AUTHORITY TO ACT SIMILARLY.]


Source: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/news/story.html?id=d303a8ca-9860-4d66-bf13-6aeaaa12fd44
 

'He needed medication, they gave him bullets'

Police are staunchly defending the actions of Dukeshire!

Kim Westad - July 14, 2004

Her husband needed medication for his mental illness, not bullets, the widow
of a man shot to death by police in a school parking lot said Tuesday. And
Teresa Camaso hopes for a full investigation into the shooting, noting that
her call for help -- she called 911 on Sunday morning to ask for medical
assistance -- ended in the death of her husband Majencio Camaso, known to
all as "Junior." Teresa Camaso provided insight Tuesday into what led to the
tragedy Sunday morning, when her husband of five years was shot three times
in the chest by a Saanich police constable.

Camaso had been coping with a mental illness, but because of stomach
problems went off his medication about two months before the shooting.

"All he needed was his medication and our lives would have been normal
again, but they gave him bullets and left me a widow with a three-year-old
daughter to bring up," Teresa Camaso said in a written statement released
Tuesday night.

Camaso, 33, was shot by Saanich police Const. Kris Dukeshire in the parking
lot of Richmond elementary school.

Dukeshire and two other officers, also with their guns drawn, had been
shouting commands at Camaso after a short foot chase from the family's
Newton Street apartment. But Camaso kept advancing toward them, brandishing
a two-foot steel pipe and 15-inch iron crowbar above his head as Dukeshire
tried to retreat, Saanich police Const. Chris Horsley said.

Police are staunchly defending the actions of Dukeshire, saying there is
nothing else the 33-year-old officer could have done, given that Camaso was running toward him with weapons.

But Teresa Camaso wants to know why the situation escalated as it did, and
why three police officers and two paramedics weren't able to subdue her
husband, especially given his size.

Friends and colleagues of Camaso, the father of one who worked for a Sidney
sailboat-building company, were disbelieving when they heard about his
actions Sunday. But the man they knew as quiet and happy had been coping
with mental illness that seemed to peak that day.

A bad reaction to pain medication after a work-related accident in 2001 led
to a psychotic episode where he was admitted to hospital, Teresa Camaso said
in her statement. He was given medication, and occasionally had recurrent
episodes. But over the last couple of years, the Camasos learned to live and
cope with his illness. Stomach problems developed a couple of months ago,
Teresa Camaso said, and he stopped taking his medication. "Junior appeared
normal most of the time, but occasionally showed signs of depression and
paranoia and thought (the family) was being spied on by terrorists and the
police."

Last week, Teresa Camaso contacted her husband's doctor, realizing the
depression and periods of paranoia were increasing. He was particularly
paranoid about the police, and always thought they were trying to harm him.
The general practitioner suggested she try to bring her husband to the
clinic and he would try to persuade Camaso to take his medication. On
Saturday night, Camaso became agitated and paranoid, talking irrationally
and thinking that terrorists were spying on him and coming after him.

'He needed medication, they gave him bullets'

He didn't sleep that night, pacing around the apartment and going outside
frequently.

On Sunday morning, she heard a crash from the living room. He had smashed
the television. She called 911, and asked for medical help. She said she
told the operator her husband had a mental illness.

At no time was her husband threatening toward her or their daughter, she
said. He shouted that she was in danger and had to leave the apartment with
their daughter, because he didn't want them to get hurt.

"He would never have hurt (me) or Christine and whatever was going through
his mind that morning, there was a strand of sanity in his head, as he
wanted to make sure his family was safe."  [..............]

Born in the Philippines, Camaso had been in Victoria since January of 1998,
after crewing a local couple's 80-foot sailboat from the Philippines to
Canada. He and Teresa married on Sept. 25, 1999, in a garden wedding that
went ahead even though the power had been knocked out by a windstorm.

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2004
 

Police watch in fascination as firefighters were quickly called in to wash off vast amounts of blood left soaking into the grass of the school playground.

Witnesses at the scene, such as those in the photos [above] who were working or going to Church, phoned in to channel 11 [Shaw Talk Television] program that same week to state that they clearly saw the victim "on his knees and in the process of surrendering" when the cop fired his three fatal shots into Mr. Camaso's chest.

These witnesses wanted to know why nobody from the local media had bothered to talk to them during their investigation of the story.