Mayor mum on officer’s back pay From puge 1 “We feeb it is a fur decision. We accept itatthough itis not ronal sat ishing.” said Saran. At the time of Mason's police board appeal, the West Vancouver Police Board included charman and then-mayor Mark Sager, Ann Frost, Bil Ferguson, Warren Downs and Carol Ebner. One of the Bellevue apartment residents at the Block Watch meeting was Susan Best. She is the erand- mother of Danny Possee, Possce, 22, was shot and killed bv a West Vancouver Police officer dur- North Vancouver. An upset Best launched the citizen complaint ante the Block Ward: ine dent. Phe matter proceeded be way of an internal disciplinary heady, which ty not open te the pubhe. Best was unaware of the BC Police Commission decision until informed abouciton Vhursday by the News. “Pans stunned. Pin outrgcd that they hadn’r let me know.” said Best. West Vancouver Police Chiet Grant Churchill declined to sav if the police department will ask fora judi cll review oot the B.C Police Commission’s tinding. “Tear comment. Vhere are rea- sons why Peat and thar is all PT can sav to vou,” said Churchill West Vancouver Mavor Pat Boname said she is not comfortable tailing about the Mason case. tthe police commision decision is not challenzed by West Vancouver Police, Mason could get more than $461,000 in back pay trom the finan: cially squeezed municipalin, Mason was also suspended for inonths betore being fired. According to West Vancouver fig: ures for L995. Mason carned S60,899.97 a vear. Boname refused fo comment on the amount of back pay Mason might receive. She described her municipal Friday. December 19, 1997 — North Shore News --- 3 i's budvet this vear as Trough.” “Phe mMuniapalty fost a SSOUOO police grant and the Wet Vaneouser court has made hte a little West house Closure more complieated™ tor Vancouver policing. Nickerson ws now oa West Vancouver Pohce stath serscant, but Way oa sergeant at the time of the investigation. Nickerson was abe president of the West) Vancouver Polige Association, a union Mason was a member of when his internal investigation was) conducted. Nickerson resigned as union presi dent as a result of a non-confidence union vote by West Vancouver Police officers in March 1996. ing a botched 1992 marijuana raid in | Burg lars Anna Marie D’Angelo News Reporter dangelo@nsnews.com Mohsen Mesbah feels he is third time lucky. Twice this vear his Lower Lonsdale restaurant has been hit by burglars who got away with the crimes. On Sunday at 3:30.a.m., Mesbah, 39, and North Vancouver RCMP Const. Rod Giles caught a man in the restaurant's washroom. “Everywhere they get in the last times, I secured it. He had co use leverage tools to break the back door,” said Mesbah, a North Vancouver resident. Miesbah has owned Legends on Second for only 1% years. The restaurant specializes in break- fast, lunches and catered meals. Mesbah said that he received a call on Sunday from an alaem company at about 3 a.m. The silent alarm was ringing at the restaurant located in the 100-block of East 2nd Street. Mesbah, who has been grieving the recent death of his father, arrived at the restaurant just as a police cruiser was heading towards the back of the eatery. Mesbah entered the front of his restau- rant. “Everything seemed OK, the doors and the windows,” said Mesbah, who at that poor sus- pected the incident was a false alarm. “Thad a look in the washroom and I thought, oh there is someone there. I didn’t go in.” Just at that time, Const. Giles came into the restaurant. The police officer apprehended a man hiding near the toilet. Mesbah described the gloved burglar as look- ing like someone who “had done this sort of thing before.” “My reaction was, ‘Good, we caught him,’ said Mesbah. He said burglars in the previous break-ins wok small amounts of items, including money, ham and coffee. The amount taken was not enough to be covered by insurance. Counci Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer miller@nsnews.com CHRISTMAS came early for five North Vancouver District councillors on Tuesday as a bylaw that will increase their pay levels by approxi- mately 32% was passed in a 6-1 vote. Only Coun, Janice Harris continued her oppo- sition to the increase thar she sees as too rich ina time of constraint. She later told the News she would stand by her convictions and donate “some” of the raise to non profit organizations, “I'm thinking gf places to disperse some of it. The onus is dn me to do it now and I will, fm not sure how much, but a good chunk.” Harris said she is quite open to having her donations verified. The remuneration for district, councillors will jump from $19,810 ta $24,145, of which one third is tax free. Additionally, they will collect another $2,000 for the two months of the year they serve as act- ing-mayor for a total of 526,145. Councillors will also be able to claim expenses for car travel to the cune of 39 cents a kilometre. Even without the car allowance, the raise vaults the district with its population (in 1995) of 81,848 ” jlague restaurant NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge MOHSEN Mesbah checks out the washroom of his Lower Lonsdale restaurant where an intruder was found hiding on Sunday at 3:30 a.m. “It wasn’t so small that [could ignore ir, but it was not big enough for insurance,” said Mesbah. Mesbah credits his new alarm system with the arrest of a burglary suspect. The alarm signals an intruder before he has broken into the business. According to the North Vancouver RCMP, an empty cash register drawer was found on a freezer what its clected representatives receive, Burnaby (population 175,811) pays its council- lors $25,462; Richmond (population 143,700) pays its counciliors $25,750; Delta (population 100 946) pays its councillors $22,301. But the majority of council insise thar the nature of the job has changed and that existing pay levels are Ourmoded. A citizen's task foree has owice disagreed with this assertion, most recently as a vear ago when the newly elected council looked: at ‘collecting 50% of the mayor's salary, At that time, the task force stated that council salaries sar right where they should Son the medi- an.” Harris maintains council is undermining citizen faith in the task force process by ignoring this rec- ommendation, However, there was little further debate Tuesday night as Mayor Don Bell voted with the rest of council, excepe for Harris, to approve the raise he had suggested as one of three options last week. At that ume Bell admitted no clear direction had been forthcoming trom local community asso- ciations consulted on the controversial topic. Prominent Blueridge community representa tive Angela ‘Trudeau told council Tuesday that “media” concentration on the size of the increase was misleading. in the restaurant. Police say they recovered a sum of money. They also seized tools trom the arrested suspect. John Maree! Patenaude, 27, of no fixed address, was charged with break, enter and theft. He is scheduled for a court appearance on Dec. 24 in North Vancouver provincial court. approves 32% pay hike ahead of much larger municipalities in rerems of “T don’t know where in the business world vou get governments for that kind of price ($26, 000 in a budget of S64 million). We spend more on dat- fadils and petunias than we do on our council- lors,” said Trudeau. But her neighboring council hopetul. Andersen, disagreed. “For those of us who follaw councils work closely, we know that vou all work very hard and that a raise is in order, but you have to realize that not many people in a very cynical world out there tind it in order thar public officials vote to give themselves a public raise.” Jan Hills was even rougher on council, suggest- ing members resign if unhappy with their pay seale. “There are a lot of volunteers in this communi- ty and they are nor reimbursed. other people willing to do the job judging by the (election) ballots.” The majority of letters received by council and the News support Andersen and Hill's position. Wrote former councillor Rick Buchols: “} would suggest that the position of councillor was not de ned to provide you with a job, The posi- tion is ‘largely public service with a generous allowance made to partially compensate you for your efforts. “We already bave hundreds of full-time paid employees. We don’t need six more.” Erie i There are dots of Deceit ‘removes cop from service AT the conclusion of Wes, Van Police Const. Glen Maso-v's internal discipline hearing on March 11, 1996, the presiding officer, Jancouver Police Department deputy — chief Const. Rick Stevens, stated the following: “Po have found the charges proven. and in doing so have found him guilty of Wing under oath and as charged in his state ment to Set. Nickerson. “The point thar must be decided here is whether or not Const, Mason can continue as a police officer tor the Cray (sic) of West Vancouver. “T have some sympathy for Const. Mason. He was under personal stress and he chose to lie and stick with his story, Lam very troubled by the way in which he gave his evidence. | found him glib and unconcerned until his defence came apart under cross- examination. “He has made no effort to appear remorseful or to express concern for the citizens he has affected. Of course he’s ner obliged to do that. ] mention these observations because it rust is something expected of an officer by the public.” affeers any rehabilitation that might reasonably be expected if he were to remain with the West Vancouver Police Department. “The word of a police officer must be of paramount impor- tance. Police officers have extraor- dinary powers and responsibilities and have a special status in courts when dealing, with the public and when swearing documents. His word is fundamental to his duties. ‘Trust is something expected of an officer by the public. “This case has obviously caused some significant reaction in the West Vancouver Police Department, because the defence Witnesses were all aware of the charges and the findings. Hf I were to find that Const. Mason could continue in his duties after deceit has been proven beyond a reasonable doubr, | beli would be doing a disservice to all of the honest police officers on the West Vancouver Police Department. “Itis with considerable regret that i find To must recommend that Const. Mason’s services with the West Vancouver Police Department be terminated.” The West Vancouver Police Board appeal decision on the matter on Oct. 24, 1996 included the following : : “On this te (of punish ment) the Police Board is faced with a most difficult and trying ion. Const. Mason had promising career in’ policing. However, the board) concludes that Const. Mason was not deprived of a fair reial... The board requires Const. Mason resign from the West Vancouver Police Department.” — From a BC. Police Commission appeal decision that overturned Mason's termination. The decision was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.