BY GREG YARDLEY
TORONTO - On July 3 Acting Sergeant Kenneth Deane was sentenced to two years less a day of community service for his role in the death of Stoney Point Indian Dudley George. He will not receive a jail term. "My brother's life comes too cheap to these people," said Pierre George, Dudley's brother. Deane shot George on Sept. 6, 1995, as Ontario Provincial Police advanced on Ipperwash Provincial Park. The park had been occupied for two days by a group of unarmed Stoney Point people, who said it contained a sacred burial ground - a claim later supported by the federal government.

Deane claimed Dudley George was armed with a rifle, forcing Deane to fire to protect the advancing police. However, George had been unarmed. After an investigation, Deane was charged with criminal negligence causing death, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The Coalition Against Racist Police Violence organized a press conference demanding that Deane's sentence be appealed. Activists carried out a one-day occupation of the office of Ontario's Attorney-General July 9. Coalition members want a full public inquiry into the death of Dudley George, to determine the extent of the Ontario government's involvement. "They can't say they didn't have involvement in what happened at Stoney Point," said Joanne Bender, a member of the Coalition.

Meanwhile, on June 26, Police Detective Constable Richard Shank was finally charged by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) with manslaughter in the killing of Hugh Dawson on March 30. This was greeted as a victory by activists in the Coalition Against Racist Police Violence, who had organized demonstrations and picket lines to demand that charges be filed.

Several police officers in plainclothes surrounded Hugh Dawson's car and smashed out the windows with nightsticks and the butt of a shotgun. After other officers struck Dawson in the face with their nightsticks, Shank entered the car through the passenger-side window. Shank claims Dawson then grabbed his gun, although no fingerprints were found. The cop shot Dawson 10 times from less than a foot away. According to witnesses, none of the officers attempted to identify themselves as police to Dawson. Shank had already killed a young Black man in 1993, but was cleared of all wrongdoing.  
 
 
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