Jason Roy can still recall the last time he saw his friend Neil Stonechild.
“(We were) relaxing and playing some cards with friends and having a few drinks. We wanted to go find somebody that he wanted to talk to. We became separated and the next time I saw him he was in the back of a police car,” Roy said, revisiting the night of Nov. 24, 1990.
Stonechild was found frozen to death five days later in an industrial area on the north end of Saskatoon.
Roy was a key witness in an inquiry into the 17-year-old’s death. His testimony led Justice David Wright to establish, in his final report issued exactly 10 years ago on Oct. 26, 2004, that two police officers were with Stonechild the night he disappeared.
Stonechild’s family immediately suspected foul play, but were unable to find answers until the inquiry launched in 2003.
The nine-month examination heard from more than 50 witnesses. The two officers named in the report, Constables Larry Hartwig and Bradley Senger, were fired just days after the report was released. The report stated injuries and marks on Stonechild’s body were likely caused by handcuffs.
Hartwig and Senger have never been found criminally responsible for the death.
Roy said, while he believes the First Nations community is still learning to trust police, the inquiry has made a difference.
“I absolutely feel Neil’s death — tragic as it is — I think it saved a lot of lives,” he said.
The report found a police investigation into Stonechild’s death was superficial.
“The system said that the police have mistreated First Nations people. That was important,” Darren Winegarden, Roy’s lawyer, said.
The Saskatoon Police Service has tried to transform its image since the “Starlight Tour” allegations.
Cameras have been installed in all cruisers so police have a record of who goes into their cars, for instance.
“I’m proud to say we’ve done every single recommendation that came out of that inquiry,” police Chief Clive Weighill said.
Weighill has worked hard to change the force’s culture. He meets with a committee of elder advisors every season.
“We have a round-table discussion on things they might think are important in the community or I might have questions for them. For example, when we were building the new police headquarters, we talked to them about cultural sensitivities for our new cultural room. Things like that,” said Weighill.
The police chief admitted there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to dealing with the root problems of poverty in the city and addressing missing and murdered aboriginal women.
As for Roy, he said he has a bright future ahead of him. He’s engaged to be married later this year.
Every day he remembers his friend Neil, who never had the chance for a future of his own.
