"Retired
detective William Harkema, 72 and infirm, hobbled into B.C. Supreme
Court on two ski-pole canes intent on testifying against an old nemesis. Yet
the Vancouver Police Dept. officer most responsible for putting Ivan
Henry behind bars for a series of 1980s sexual assaults had little
memory of events 33 years ago and downplayed his role. He insisted he was the “co-lead” investigator, not the “lead” as numerous documents identify him. Although Henry was not in court Monday, with the city presenting its case, there was tension in the room. Two
conflicting, adversarial stories have clashed during the last two
months of proceedings: Henry’s plea for compensation for an ordeal of
wrongful conviction and 27 years imprisonment versus the city’s
insistence that notwithstanding a 2010 acquittal ordered by the B.C.
Court of Appeal, he is not innocent. The
provincial and federal governments are presenting their own defences to
claims against prosecutors and politicians for their roles in the
miscarriage of justice. Harkema, a VPD officer from 1965 until 1998, was to be a cornerstone of the city’s argument. Unfortunately,
he often couldn’t recall or didn’t remember the events from the early
1980s and his sullen, cross-armed pose during cross-examination did not
enhance his testimony. “I have no current memory,” he said of his
key encounter with the other critical witness in the city’s case, the
victim who seemingly maintains Henry attacked her..........Harkema
said Henry was the prime suspect, “tentatively identified” by three
victims, and he immediately wanted him placed under surveillance because
of the serious public safety concerns. “I felt there was a situation that was escalating and needed to be taken care of,” Harkema said. He
had worked only one sexual assault before and had little formal
training in such investigations — “very little that I can recall, I
can’t recall anything, no.” He didn’t know whether there was a
list of evidence seized during the Henry investigation, didn’t know if
he kept a list of people he interviewed and didn’t know what might have
happened to other material absent from police files. Although he
was later a sergeant making decisions in the sexual assault squad,
Harkema conceded he knew little about forensics or what insights and
information such scientific techniques might produce from a semen
sample. But at the time he pointed out forensic evidence was
cavalierly stored in a locker at the front of the police station that
the public could easily access. Where were the results from the forensic and identification units kept, he was asked. “I don’t know,” Harkema replied. Little
more than a month after Harkema was tagged, Henry was charged as a
result of the woman still to testify identifying him from a photo lineup
Harkema put together.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Ivan Henry: British Columbia: Former investigator has difficulty recalling events - downplays his role in Henry’s arrest for sexual assaults; Ian Mulgrew. Vancouver Sun. "Ivan Henry was imprisoned for 27 years after being wrongfully convicted of sexual assault in 1983. He is suing prosecutors for allegedly breaching his charter rights after he was acquitted in 2010 of 10 sexual-assault convictions). "Harkema, a VPD officer from 1965 until 1998, was to be a cornerstone of the city’s argument. Unfortunately, he often couldn’t recall or didn’t remember the events from the early 1980s and his sullen, cross-armed pose during cross-examination did not enhance his testimony. “I have no current memory,” he said of his key encounter with the other critical witness in the city’s case, the victim who seemingly maintains Henry attacked her."
