Former cop kicked out of inquiry

A former police officer was told to leave the hearing room of the Taman Inquiry on Tuesday on charges he tried to intimidate a witness.

Ken Graham, a former Constable with the East St. Paul Police service, was told to leave the hearing room when a letter was presented from another east St. Paul police officer, Bryan Maloney.

In the letter Maloney states that while in the hallway outside the hearing, Graham told Maloney, "You guys are nothing but a bunch of f------ traitors."

Maloney is testifying this afternoon at the hearing while Graham testified last week.

"There is significant enough concern here under the circumstances, that to protect the integrity of the record of this proceeding, the prudent thing in respect to this issue to ask that Mr. Graham be removed," said Commission Counsel David Paciocco.

As the allegations were read aloud in the hearing, Graham, who was sitting in the audience, shook his head. When asked to leave, he denied the allegations contained in Maloney's letter. He said he had spoken with Maloney but had said, 'I don't talk to liars.'

Shortly after the incident the inquiry was delayed yet again when a spectator collapsed in what appeared to be a seizure. He was taken to the hospital and the inquiry reconvened in the afternoon.

The inquiry is looking into how police and prosecutors handled the case of former Winnipeg police officer Derek Harvey-Zenk - who was involved in a car crash that killed Crystal Taman in February, 2005.

The inquiry has heard from witnesses who have said Zenk smelled of alcohol the night of the crash.

Other witnesses have testified that they were told to exclude references to alcohol in their case reports, and deliberately falsified their reports.

Charges of impaired driving causing were eventually dropped against Zenk due to lack of evidence. Zenk was handed a conditional two-year sentence which he served from his home.

Here is the text of Bryan Maloney's letter, as read aloud today in the courtroom:

On July 8, 2008 while sitting on a bench outside the courtroom, Ken Graham came walking down the hall from the south toward the courtroom. Upon coming up to me I said, 'Mr. Graham,' and he said 'Maloney, Maloney, you guys are nothing but a bunch of f------ traitors.' I said, 'Ken, I wasn't even there,' and he said 'I know you weren't.' and walked back into the courtroom. Mr. Graham was slightly agitated when he said this. There was a female photographer to the north of the door on the other bench. I continued to sit and then I was taken to a sitting room to read a previous statement when I asked [Chief Administrative Officer] Bob Giasson 'Why is Graham so upset?', and he asked why, and I informed him of what Ken Graham had said. [Associate Commission Counsel] Mr. Vincent Clifford attended the sitting room and asked about what was said. I told him what Graham had said, and he requested that I write a statement of what occurred.

CTV's Alana Pona is at the hearing today. Watch for her full report on CTV News at 6 p.m.