Videotape may show
street brawl culprits

Bar bouncers accused in beating altercation

By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN
A KITWANGA resident who in-
formed police of the existence of a
video surveillance tape hopes it will
prove people she was with New Year's
Eve were victims of an attack.

Police are now reviewing the tape of
the incident which teok place outside the
Video Stop store on Lakelse Ave... .

Darlene Morgan alleges she and a
group, including her husband, were haras-
sed al Hanky Panky’s, the nightclub at
the Coast Inn of the West across Lakelse
Ave. from Video Stop, by off and on-duty
club employees.

She says the harassment included
pushing and shoving in the club and that
when her group left, they were followed
outside and were set upon,

Two men in her group, Marvin Artiga
and her husband, Reg Morgan, were bea-
ten up so badly they were transported to
hospital by the B.C. Ambulance Service,
says Morgan.

“There was blood everywhere,” Mor-
gan says. “Artiga was bleeding from the
eyes, nose and ears. His entire body is
covered in bruises.” She says her husband
was beaten unconscious,

- Police have confirmed they were
called to the scene and are now invest-
igating the circumstances.

“Members did attend and there was a
large number of people involved in the
bout or altercation,” says Terrace RCMP
Inspector Marlin Degrand,

“The matter’s currently still under in-
vestigation with numerous individuals
having been spoken to and a video sur-
veillance tape from a nearby business
being seized,” he said.

“At any time we have that level of
violence in the streets we take it very
seriously.”

As well as the two men being taken to
hospital, two cther men from Morgan’s
froup were arrested for causing a distur-
bance. They were tater released with no
charges laid.

_ There are no reports of people from the
other group being arrested.
While police are investigating the in-

cident, they are also themselves the sub-
ject of a complaint filed by Morgan to the
RCMP Public Complaints Commission.

She says the first officer on the scene
made no attempt to stop the assaults and
that he refused to take statements from
sober members of her group.

Degrand says the officer continues to
investigate the original complaint, calling
the: procedure normal.

Morgan also wants any Hanky’s em-
ployees fired who are found to be in-
volved in the incident.

Coast Inn of the West general manager
Doug Barrett says he’s aware of the po-
lice investigation.

“Unfortunately you hear so many stor-
ies from sc many people,” Barrett says,
adding he won’t take any action until a
police investigation is completed.

He also points out the incident toak
place off hotel
property.

“| “I don’t want to
see things like this
happening in my
business,” Barrett
says.

The men who were
beaten up have not
yet filed their own
complaints and
4 Morgan says she’s
representing ithe
group because she
was sober on the

Insp. Degrand

night of the conflict.

“There’s a number of different people
involved on both sides of the altercation,”
Degrand says.

“Some people are giving statements
and some are not — some of the individ-
uals involved have chosen not to pursue a
complaint,”

The Liquor Control and Licensing
Branch is also involved in the investiga-
tion because it involves employees of a
licensed establishment.

“If there is an infraction usually the
action is taken on the actual holder of the
licence because they are responsible for
the actions of their staff,” says local li-
quor inspector Lynn Tryon.

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