Driver probed in police van death
Officer who ran over alleged thief is focus of investigation
(Killer cop's name not released!!!)

http://members.fortunecity.com/brutalitycanada/policecrush.html

Monday 25 June 2001
Jake Rupert
The Ottawa Citizen


The Special Investigations Unit's probe of a police van that ran over and killed a man on a bicycle who was fleeing an alleged attempted break-in is focusing on the actions of the officer who was driving. [notice the wording here suggesting the van ran over the man by itself and was maybe out of control and therefore the driver didn't do it. -ed]

The officer, however, won't be identified until the investigation is complete.

Six investigators from the Solicitor General's ministry will be interviewing the driver, as well as 15 other officers who were involved with the incident.

They are also looking for anybody that may have witnessed what happened.

It occurred Friday morning at about 1:20 a.m.

"We're appealing for witnesses," said unit spokeswoman Rose Hong.

"We're still in the preliminary stages."

Several officers, including a tactical unit van, responded to a theft in progress in the Byward Market area.

Eventually, the van began chasing the suspects -- Benoit Aube, 38, and Eric Albert, 33 -- who were on bicycles.

The van hit Mr. Aube on Clarence Street near Cumberland Street.

He was pinned under one of the vehicle's front wheels for up to 30 minutes.

While he was there, two officers from the van were taken away by other officers.

Mr. Aube, who had a head injury, was eventually taken to the Ottawa Hospital's General campus, where he remained in intensive care until he died yesterday at about 10 p.m.

Mr. Albert was arrested and charged with possession of break-in tools, attempted theft, and breaching probation. He was remanded in custody until tomorrow.

Attempts to reach Mr. Aube's family and Mr. Albert failed.

Man run over by police dies - By JOHN STEINBACHS -- Ottawa Sun, June 24, 2001

A 38-year-old homeless man run over by police while they tried to arrest him died in hospital last night.

Sheila Moffat, nursing co-ordinator for the Ottawa Hospital General campus, said Benoit Aube passed away from his injuries at about 10 p.m.

A resident of the Union Mission, Aube was being pursued by police when he was hit by an unmarked police van.

Investigators from the province's Special Investigation Unit are investigating the circumstances of the accident.

The SIU said police were trying to arrest a man for a robbery at about 1:20 a.m. Friday. The man was fleeing on his bike when he was run over.

Aube, who was often seen on his bike around town, suffered serious head injuries and a fractured arm.

Aube was with his pal Eric Albert when the accident happened. Albert was also arrested.

Friends of Aube said he was often in trouble with the law and had just recently gotten out of jail.


Suspect in critical condition after police van crushes him -Don Campbell, The Ottawa Citizen June 23

A suspect in a theft in the Byward Market was struck and critically injured by an Ottawa police van in hot pursuit early yesterday. The 38-year-old injured man was driving east on Clarence Street shortly after 1 a.m. when the van carrying members of the Ottawa police tactical unit hit the cyclist and partially drove over him before stopping.

The call for the van came in as a "theft in progress" involving two suspects, and several officers responded. Officers arrested another suspect while others tended to the injured man as he lay beneath the right front wheel of the van, just east of Cumberland Street. Firefighters had to jack the van to allow paramedics to free the man, who was bleeding heavily.

Witnesses said the man lay partially under the weight of the van for upwards of 30 minutes before he was freed and taken to the Ottawa Hospital's General campus, where he remained in critical condition with unspecified head injuries and a broken arm. "There was a screech of tires, then a crash," said Market resident Nat Zinger, who rushed from his apartment to the scene to find the man lying with the wheel of the van partially on his shoulder and his head beneath the vehicle.

"It was raining pretty heavy and there was a stream of blood flowing to the side of the road. The man wasn't screaming or anything. He was just lying under the van."

The witness said the officers from the van were whisked away from the scene by other Ottawa police. Throughout yesterday's intermittent heavy rain, investigators with the province's Special Investigations Unit searched the crash scene for clues. The SIU investigates all incidents involving police and injuries to civilians. It immediately sent six investigators, including two forensic identification technicians.

Hours later, the injured man's twisted bike lay on the roadway to the side of the van. A second bike belonging to his alleged accomplice was propped against the rear of a police cruiser. It wasn't until late morning before other members of the tactical unit were allowed to take weapons and equipment from the van involved in the crash.

Ottawa police referred all inquiries to the SIU in Toronto. "The suspect is from the Ottawa area, though we have yet to reach next of kin," said SIU spokeswoman Rose Hong. "The second individual in the matter was not injured and, therefore, is not a part of the SIU investigation." The investigators completed the analysis of the scene and will interview the officers involved. The second suspect remained in police custody late yesterday, though no charges had been filed.
 

Please check out our Police Crashes page....

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