NV man claims
kicked by guard

A NORTH VANCOUVER man is claiming his
arm was broken by an RCMP jail guard early

Friday morning.

By MARK HAMILTON

Jim Burnette, lodged in
the detachment’s drunk tank
early Friday morning, says
he suffered a broken arm
when he was kicked by a
guard while reaching for a
glass of water he had re-
quested.

RCMP in North Van-
couver are aware of the
complaint but say that it
can’t be investigated until
Burnette lays a formal com.
plaint.

According to Burnette, he
was stopped by police and
arrested on Lonsdale about
half a block from his Fifth
Street apartment while walk-
ing home early Friday morn
ing after a night of
drinking

‘They took me up to the
jail and threw me into the
cells,’’ Burnette says.
Burnette said he demanded
to be allowed to contact his
lawyer but was refused and
admits that he was ‘‘making
a lot of noise’’ by banging
on the bars of has cell

Burnette says he asked for
a cigarette but was refused

smoking is prohibited in
the cell reserved for in
ebriated prisoners - and
then asked for a glass of

heavy

water

“When I reached for the
glass, | was booted in the
arm by the attendant,”

Burnette says.

Burnette says he felt pain
afier the blow but that he
didn’t realize he may have
been scnously hurt until his
hand started swelling.

He adds that when he told
the attendant he thought his
hand was broken and that he
was in pain, he was ignored,
and that he was given no

medical attention during his
stay in the cells.

Burpette claims to have
been released at 8 a.m. Fri-
day morning. He went to
Lions Gate Haspital where
he was told the arm was
broken and had it put in a
cast.

He says he then met with
the RCMP and asked that
they lay a charge against him
so he could tell his story in
court, but that police ret-
used. He then contacted the
News and his lawyer about
the situation.

A spokesman for the
North Vancouver RCMP
said Burnette's allegations
have not been investigated
because Burnette has not
laid a formal complaint

‘Unless he lays a com
plaint with the officer in
charge (of the detachment),
i won't be investigated,’’
the spokesman said. ‘‘Once
a complaint arrives we have
to act on it.’’

While no other official
response could be clicited
from police, a source within
the department said Burnette
was arrested for being drunk
in a public place by police
officers investigating an ap-
parently unrelated report of
an impaired driving incident
and held overmght.

The police source said
“there was a lot of notse
from the cellblock’’ during
Burnette’s bref imprison.
ment and that the damage to

his arm ‘‘may have been
sclf-inflacted'"’.
Burnette — who says he

has no argument with police
but he docs with the civilian
employees — says he intends
to pursuc the matter through
his lawyer and expects to
have some answers by late
next week.