Harvey-Zenk claims memory loss

Derek Harvey-Zenk at the Taman Inquiry room at the Winnipeg Convention Centre on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008.

A former Winnipeg police officer who smashed his pickup truck into a car on his way home from a party with co-workers, killing a woman, says he can only remember "snapshots" and "sound bites" of the fatal crash.

A public inquiry has heard in vivid detail how Derek Harvey-Zenk actions caused the death of Crystal Taman on a cold, clear morning in February 2005.

The inquiry has also heard how drunk-driving charges against Harvey-Zenk were dropped despite witnesses who said they saw the off-duty officer drinking that night and could smell alcohol on his breath. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and received a conditional sentence of two years in a controversial plea bargain.

Harvey-Zenk testified Wednesday he remembers very little of what happened that night and the next morning.

No fewer than six times Harvey-Zenk repeated that all he remembers from the crash is the impact of his truck hitting the car and panicking.

"You don't have any recollection, sir, of seeing vehicles ahead of you?" asked David Paciocco, the lead lawyer for the inquiry.

"The only memory I have of the accident is feeling an impact and then feeling a panic to stop my truck," Harvey-Zenk replied.

"You have no recollection of the overhead warning lights that exist many ,many metres from the scene of the collision, sir?" Paciocco asked.

"The only memory I have is feeling an impact and then feeling a panic to stop my truck," Harvey-Zenk replied.

Harvey-Zenk, who is no longer a police officer, said he does remember a "picture" in his mind of Taman and her vehicle after the crash.

He said he has only "sporadic" memories of the late night house party before the crash at the home of Sgt. Sean Black, where officers congregated after drinking at a Winnipeg lounge.

Harvey-Zenk said he remembers an arm wrestling contest, dropping a glass of rye after washing his hands and something about twin beds.

Earlier at the inquiry, Black testified that his guests had emptied a bottle of Crown Royal by the end of the party.

Another inquiry witness, lounge waitress Chelsea O'Halloran, said a man she believes was Harvey-Zenk had about eight or nine beers before heading off to the party at his co-worker's home outside of Winnipeg.

Harvey-Zenk said he "wouldn't want to guess" how many pints of draft beer he consumed at the lounge.

"Usually I have a couple," he said.

He also told the inquiry he hasn't looked for a receipt from the lounge -- something the lawyer for the Taman family, Gene Zazelenchuk, suggested might trigger Harvey-Zenk's memory.

"I'm not sure if it would jog any memory. In coming days and weeks after the accident, I was still quite distraught, so I'm not sure why I didn't look for it," said Harvey-Zenk.

"I understand that, and I'm not saying it would, but I'm saying it's possible that it might," Zazelenchuk said.

The former constable testified his psychologist in Brandon, Man., has told him that some of the things he's experiencing -- like memory loss -- could be consistent with post traumatic stress disorder.

But a report from another doctor suggests "quite the contrary," Paciocco said. "You will see nowhere in this report ... memory loss being experienced as a result of this accident."

At the end of his testimony, Harvey-Zenk was given the chance to address the inquiry with any final thoughts. He politely declined.

Harvey-Zenk was the last witness to take the stand.

Final arguments are scheduled to take place next week, then inquiry commissioner Roger Salhany will begin writing his report.