2 fired officers in Stonechild case won't get jobs back

Two fired Saskatoon police officers connected by an inquiryto the case of an aboriginal teenager who was found frozen to death will not get their jobs back.

Larry Hartwig and Brad Senger found out Tuesday they had lost an appeal of their 2004 dismissal from the Saskatoon police service.

The 2004 inquiry into the death of 17-year-old Neil Stonechild concluded Stonechild was in custody of police the night he died. Stonechild's frozen body was later found on the outskirts of the city in November 1990.

The two men denied any involvement and say they had no contact with Stonechild. After they were fired, they appealed.

However, hearing officer Dirk Silversides said in a ruling that the firing was justified.

"I have concluded that constables Hartwig and Senger should not have been afforded the opportunity to take remedial efforts relative to their conduct which breached fundamental duties of police officers of the Saskatoon police service," Silversides said.

"I conclude that both officers are unsuitable for police service."

The highly publicized case put the sometimes strained relations between Saskatoon's police and the city's aboriginal community under a spotlight.

Chapter closed

The decision closes another chapter in the saga for Stonechild's mother, Stella Bignell.

"Her reaction has been all along, has been one of supreme faith and belief not only in the justice system but certainly in Mr. Justice [David] Wright's findings," Bignell's lawyer Donald Worme said.

Wright led the inquiry.

The president of the police union, Stan Goertzen, said he was disappointed.

"I absolutely believe in my entire being that these two officers had nothing to do with the death of Neil Stonechild," he said.

Hartwig and Senger will talk to their lawyers about their next step, Goertzen said.

Under provincial law they can take their appeal one step farther to the Saskatchewan Police Commission.