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December 4, 1985, Wednesday, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. C17

LENGTH: 401 words

HEADLINE: Man admits setting fire to get rid of his tenants

BYLINE: By Gary Oakes Toronto Star

BODY:

A mentally disturbed landlord has admitted setting fire to his own
house in an attempt to get rid of troublesome tenants.

Otto Attila Vass hoped "to scare them and force them to move out,"
prosecutor Chris Punter told District Court Judge Sidney Dymond yesterday.

But the fire got out of control, quickly engulfed the whole front of
the house and caused more than $5,000 damage before it was extinguished by
firefighters. The tenants had to flee to safety, Punter added.

Vass, 40, of Lisle, was originally charged with attempted murder but
pleaded guilty to arson. He will be sentenced Feb. 10, after his wife has
given birth.

Punter said Vass told police that one of the tenants "had been causing
me hardship. She don't pay me the rent so I can pay my bills. Pressures
have been building."

"End of tether'

Vass initially got a court order evicting the woman and her friend. But
he said the tenant told him: "It's not likely I'll move out ever'," the
prosecutor told the court.

"It appears he was a man at the end of his tether," Punter said of
Vass, who blamed the woman and her friend for noisy parties and damage to
the Bank St. home.

On June 23, 1983, Vass bought some gasoline and doused the front door
and porch area of the home. He set the fire, then went directly to a
police station and gave himself up, the prosecutor said.

Vass said he hadn't intended to hurt anyone. He said he was
particularly sorry that an elderly woman, who lived on the second floor
with a baby she looked after, had been home at the time "because they
would have no fair warning."

Psychiatric problems

No one was injured in the blaze.

Punter said Vass, a paranoid schizophrenic, has a long history of
psychiatric problems and there was initially some question as to his
fitness to stand trial.

The crown and defence counsel Doug Rollo jointly recommended that Vass
be sentenced to six months in jail and placed on probation, with the
condition he continue psychiatric treatment.

The sentence would be "the least the accused could expect under the
circumstances," Punter said.

CORRECTION:

A story in The Star on Dec. 4 erroneously referred to Otto Vass, 40, of
Lisle, as a paranoid schizophrenic. Vass, who pleaded guilty in court to
arson, was suffering from manic depression.

The Star regrets the error. (Dec. 26, l985 page A3)

See correction at the end of story.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: May 13, 1999

December 26, 1985, Thursday, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A3

LENGTH: 38 words

HEADLINE: Arsonist suffers from depression

BODY:

A story in The Star on Dec. 4 erroneously referred to Otto Vass, 40, of
Lisle, as a paranoid schizophrenic. Vass, who pleaded guilty in court to
arson, was suffering from manic depression.

The Star regrets the error.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: May 13, 1999

September 5, 1993, Sunday, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A7

LENGTH: 253 words

HEADLINE: Slain cab owner near bankruptcy, partner confirms

BYLINE: BY CATHERINE DUNPHY TORONTO STAR

BODY:
The business partner of a murdered Metro cab fleet owner has confirmed
rumors that their debt-ridden business was on the brink of bankruptcy.

According to Serge Boodram, the business had been in serious financial
trouble for three years and Bernard Bimbi had been trying to re-finance or
sell his fleet of 27 cabs for the past year.

Bimbi, 62, was stabbed in the neck Thursday afternoon at the Spotlight
Service Centre he ran.

The business was carrying "two large mortgages" on its property at 111
Strachan Ave. and the partners were behind in payments and Petro-Canada
had cut off both sets of gas pumps almost a month earlier, Boodram said
yesterday.

"But I don't think his killing had anything to do with the business,"
he said.

Boodram was Bimbi's partner and business manager for 16 years. He says
he was on his day off, fishing, when Bimbi was killed.

"It is still a mystery to me. I can't figure out why anybody would do
this," he said.

But Bimbi may have been putting his debts in line, according to his
real estate agent and friend Otto Vass, who had the Strachan Ave. property
listed at $7 million, then $6 million.

"I saw him the day before he died. He mentioned things were looking
better. He said he'd found a new partner with some capital and that he
thought there was a load of gas coming for the second set of pumps. It
sounded like he had things in line," Vass said.

The Hungarian-born Bimbi bought the business in 1976 from Izzy Light, a
fellow Holocaust survivor.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: September 6, 1993

September 9, 1993, Thursday, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A4

LENGTH: 249 words

HEADLINE: Youth charged in slaying of cab fleet owner Bimbi

BYLINE: BY PAUL MOLONEY TORONTO STAR

BODY:
A 17-year-old has been arrested in last week's slaying of Bernard
Bimbi, a cab fleet owner.

The teenager was arrested yesterday and charged with first-degree
murder in the death of Bimbi, 62, who was stabbed in the neck Sept. 2 at
the Spotlight Service Centre he ran in west end Toronto.

A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for another suspect in the
slaying, Mohamed Kamaludeen, 32, of Toronto, said Detective Sergeant Vic
Matanovic of the Metro homicide squad.

Kamaludeen is described as black, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 190 pounds with
a stocky build.

A partner of Bimbi told The Star that the business was on the brink of
bankruptcy and Bimbi had been trying to re-finance or sell his fleet of 27
cabs for the past year.

The Hungarian-born Bimbi bought the business in 1976 from Izzy Light, a
fellow Holocaust survivor.

Serge Boodram said there were "two large mortgages" on the property at
111 Strachan Ave. and Petro-Canada had cut off the gas pumps almost a
month earlier.

But Matanovic said the financial troubles weren't a factor in the
murder.

"There is no evidence to support that theory at all," the investigator
said.

He refused to comment on a suspected motive.

Bimbi may have been putting his debts in line, his real estate agent
and friend Otto Vass has said. Vass had the Strachan Ave. property listed
at $7 million, then $6 million.

Matanovic said the teenager, whose name can't be published, was to
appear today in youth court on Jarvis St.

GRAPHIC: photo: WANTED: Police are also looking for Mohamed Kamaludeen,
32.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: September 10, 1993

August 10, 2000, Thursday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 1163 words

HEADLINE: WITNESSES SAY POLICE BEAT MAN WHO DIED AT STORE

BYLINE: Graeme Smith

BODY:
SIU probing death outside 7-Eleven store

The man who died in a 7-Eleven parking lot early yesterday was beaten
by police, witnesses say.

Two witnesses who watched the incident from a porch across the street
told The Star that police pinned the 55-year-old man near the corner of
College St. and Lansdowne Ave. and struck him repeatedly with a baton,
fists and feet. Neighbours identified him as Otto Vass, a large man with a
history of mental problems.

The special investigations unit, the provincial agency that probes
serious injuries or deaths involving police, will examine the actions of
four subject officers, using evidence from eight witness officers, said
spokesperson Gail Scala.

No one else is saying anything officially about the incident, which a
store employee said began when Vass got into an argument with some younger
men in the store.

"They (the police) were beating him worse than an animal," said Amir
Hameed, 23, a neighbour who saw the incident. "He wasn't fighting back at
all."

Because the case is now being handled by the SIU, Toronto police said
little information could be released.

"We removed a man from the store," Sergeant Jim Muscat said.
"Paramedics pronounced him dead a short time later."

Scala wouldn't comment on the eyewitnesses' version of events.

"I heard the rumours, but I don't know whether they're true or not,"
said Scala.

An autopsy is planned for today.

Police said two officers were called to assist at the west-end
7-Eleven before 1 a.m. yesterday.

-------------------------------------
Argument sparked incident: Witness
-------------------------------------

While the man's name wasn't released, neighbours identified the victim
as Otto Vass, a father of five, twice married, and the owner of a
dilapidated shop that sells used furniture and appliances just a few doors
down from the convenience store.

Neighbours described Vass as emotionally unstable. In 1985, he pleaded
guilty to setting fire to a rental property he owned in an attempt to
scare off tenants. Police had originally charged him with attempted
murder.

According to a store employee who was reluctant to give details,
police were originally called to the convenience store because Vass was
arguing with some younger men inside.

Bystanders said magazine racks had been toppled in the commotion.

When police arrived at the store, Hameed was sitting near his
apartment window with his roommate Asim Abbasi, 30. The friends watched
from roughly 40 metres away as the officers calmly walked a man, wearing
shorts and an unbuttoned shirt, out of the store along with a female clerk
who soon went back inside.

Abbasi said the officers appeared to be talking calmly with the man
when one officer suddenly shoved the man to the ground.

"I don't know what made the officers furious," said Abbasi, who was
out of earshot.

"They were just talking in a friendly manner and suddenly started
beating him, " said Hameed, who was likewise too distant to hear the
exchange of words.

After watching from the window, the two witnesses climbed out onto the
porch for a better view of the scene.

Hameed said one officer held the man down and punched him in the face
while the other hit him on the legs with a baton.

Then the first officer stood up and began kicking the man while the
second continued hitting him with the baton, Hameed said, adding that most
of the blows were aimed at the victim's lower torso or legs.

The attack lasted about four to five minutes, the witnesses said.

Hameed said the blows continued for roughly 30 seconds after two more
officers arrived on the scene. The new officers held the man down while
the two original officers kept hitting him, he said.

"He was just screaming due to the pain," Hameed said. "He never hit an
officer - they never gave him a chance, and he never tried to."

The officers stopped attacking when the man stopped moving, the
witnesses said. When paramedics arrived, they performed CPR and
defibrilation.

Resident Tony Wright said he was on his way home yesterday morning
when he saw Vass lying on the ground, receiving CPR from emergency staff.
He said the large man was shirtless and his knees and legs were cut and
bloodied.

Paramedics pronounced Vass dead shortly afterward.

"I don't think they (the officers) meant to kill him," Abbasi said.

The two witnesses, recent refugees from Pakistan, said they were
shaken and unable to sleep that night.

"I'm kind of afraid of the police," said Hameed, after being
interviewed by SIU investigators. "In civilized countries, we don't do
that."

Another eyewitness, who didn't give her name but was also interviewed
by the SIU, said she was too exhausted to talk.

"I didn't see what started it," she said. "I just saw the beating."

Members of the SIU were called around 2:30 a.m., said lead
investigator Mike MacKinnon.

The five investigators, including one forensic identification
technician, spent yesterday morning dusting for fingerprints and
collecting evidence. They picked up a pair of eyeglasses near the body,
about three metres from the convenience store's door, and seized a VCR and
videotape from a security camera inside the store.

Sandy Da Silva, 23, who lives across from Vass' junk shop and attended
school with Vass' three daughters, said she often saw people at the shop
exchanging money for packages that she suspected contained illegal drugs.

Gabriella Pavao, a nurse at Toronto General Hospital who lives beside
the junk shop with her young children, said she was worried by the crowd
that loitered next door.

"I'd see homeless people, mostly men, and they'd have nothing else to
do," Pavao said. "He hung around a lot of people who were doing illegal
stuff, I guess."

Vass was well-known in the neighbourhood for his verbal outbursts and
volatility.

"We were a bit concerned," Pavao said. "He was just very emotionally
unstable."

"He takes some medication and when he doesn't take it he goes really
mental," Da Silva said.

"He'd argue with the neighbours, fight with them."

Neighbours recently persuaded the Toronto Humane Society to take Vass'
German shepherd.

"He didn't feed the dog, didn't take it for walks, and tied it to a
short leash outside," Da Silva said.

Da Silva said she last saw Vass drinking with other men and enjoying a
barbeque on his patio just hours before he died.

Although he lived in Mississauga, Da Silva said, Vass had been
sleeping at his shop recently.

Vass was a former real estate agent and owned several properties
around Toronto, said Firoz Jamal, who had been his tenant and now owns a
drycleaning business nearby.

"He was very kind," Jamal said. "He would go out of his way to help
somebody. He would not hurt anybody."

A receptionist for Century 21 Kingsbury Real Estate on Eglinton Ave. W
in Mississauga recalled his name, but couldn't remember when he last
worked out of that office.

Vass' friend, local landlord Joe Antonacci, 54, said Vass was
harmless. "I never saw him as a violent man," he said.

GRAPHIC: 3 PHOTOS:

FIGHT FOR LIFE: Paramedics try to revive Otto Vass in the parking lot
outside a west-end 7-Eleven. Witnesses said the man was beaten by police
after being removed from the store after a disturbance. PHOTO ANDREW
PALAMARCHUK

THE SCENE: According to witnesses, Otto Vass, 55, died in the parking lot
outside this 7-Eleven at College St. and Lansdowne Ave. after police hit
him with a baton, fists and feet. This photograph was taken last night
from the witnesses' front porch, where they watched the incident. PHOTO
HENRY STANCU

AMIR HAMEED: "They (the police) were beating him worse than an animal. He
wasn't fighting back at all." PHOTO ANDREW STAWICKI/TORONTO STAR

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 10, 2000

August 10, 2000, Thursday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 151 words

HEADLINE: THE TWO FACES OF OTTO VASS

BODY:
Otto Vass was a generous friend but was prone to volatile outbursts,
say those who knew him.

The 55-year-old father of five, who died in a 7-Eleven parking lot
yesterday, was a manic depressive with a long history of psychiatric
problems, a court heard while Vass was on trial for arson in 1985.

Vass admitted he set fire to a house he owned on Bank St., in the
Dufferin St. and Dundas St. W. area, to get rid of troublesome tenants.
The fire caused more than $5,000 damage.

He was sentenced to six months in jail.

Residents of the area told The Star that Vass was well-known for his
verbal outbursts and volatility.

"He was just very emotionally unstable," said Gabriella Pavao, a nurse
who lives nearby with her young children.

Friend Jim Westbrook said Vass was a generous and friendly man. "The
only time he would get upset is if somebody got in his face," he said.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO: OTTO VASS

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 10, 2000

August 11, 2000, Friday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 1038 words

HEADLINE: TRIO BEAT MAN BEFORE POLICE GOT TO SCENE: SOURCES

BYLINE: Jim Rankin and Hamida Ghafour

BODY:
Otto Vass had been beaten by three men by the time Toronto police
officers arrived at the parking lot where he would die just minutes later,
sources say.

According to the sources, 55-year-old Vass also punched one of the
officers in the face, which led to a violent police takedown outside a
west-end convenience store early Wednesday morning.

An autopsy was completed yesterday, but the results were not released
by the special investigations unit, the provincial body that probes
serious injuries or deaths involving police.

"At this stage of our investigation it would not be appropriate to
release the preliminary results of the post-mortem conducted (yesterday)
as it may affect the integrity of our investigation," said SIU director
Peter Tinsley.

Four police officers have been designated as subjects of the SIU
investigation. Eight others have been designated witness officers.

The account from sources of how the takedown began differs greatly
from those of several civilian witnesses, who made no mention of Vass
being violent.

The sources say Vass' face was puffy and there were a number of cuts
on his body when the first two officers arrived at the 7-Eleven, near the
corner of College St. and Lansdowne Ave.

-----------------------------------------
Eyewitnesses sticking to their stories
-----------------------------------------

Three men had been in the store and were involved in a fight with Vass
but had already fled by the time the officers arrived, said the sources.

According to the sources, the officers felt Vass had been a victim of
a crime and took him outside to speak to him. "They were trying to help
him. They don't know him at all," said one source.

The officers then asked him for identification. Vass, the sources
said, produced some identification then punched one of the officers and a
violent takedown began.

"There's no question (the takedown was violent). He (Vass) started
it," said one source. "(Vass) cold-cocked the guy."

The officers put out a radio call for assistance and two more officers
soon arrived. Vass was incredibly strong, said the sources.

For some as yet unexplained reason, his body went limp. Paramedics
were called and went to work on Vass' body. He was pronounced dead at the
scene.

Two civilian witnesses have told a number of media outlets they saw
officers calmly speaking with Vass and that one of the officers then
suddenly shoved him to the ground. They said the officers then began
"beating" Vass repeatedly with fists, feet and a baton.

Witness Asim Abbasi said the source's account of the incident is
"absolutely wrong."

Abbasi and his roommate watched the incident from their Lansdowne Ave.
apartment window, roughly 40 metres away. The 30-year-old resident said
Vass - described by a neighbour as 5-foot-10 and about 200 pounds - walked
calmly out of the store with the two officers and began talking in the
parking lot. One officer then shoved Vass to the ground.

"I did not see (Vass) punch anybody," Abbasi said last night.

The roommates were interviewed Wednesday by SIU investigators.

According to his next-door neighbour named Margaret, Vass was having a
late night barbecue with two friends when he went to the nearby 7-Eleven
to get some hot sauce for a Hungarian recipe.

She said Vass was in a good mood and had offered to cook for her as
well, but she was too tired and declined the invitation. That was around 9
p.m.

"And that was the last I saw of him," she said.

Yesterday the front yard of the Vass house on St. Clarens Ave. was
littered with a broken dishwasher, a stove and an old bench. Near the
fence, a barbecue stood with several half-cooked chicken drumsticks,
sausages and potato patties still on the grill.

But Vass wasn't well-liked in the area and neighbours often complained
to him about the junk in the yard which he sold from a second-hand shop in
the house.

"This whole neighbourhood was against him. He was making money his own
way, and he's got junk on his property which they didn't like," said Mark
Dmuchowski, 31.

Vass was an entrepreneur who saw dollar signs in other people's junk
and bought their old dishwashers and resold them. But he also moonlighted
as a real-estate broker and a paralegal, offering legal advice from a tiny
office in his house.

Dmuchowski, who lives a few doors away on St. Clarens, said Vass
rented out one of the rooms in the house to some of the downtrodden people
who came to him for legal advice.

"He's got a big heart. He'd take people in after they were out on bail
and let them live here," said Dmuchowski, pointing to the house. "He'd
charge them about $200 a month or whatever and they work at his store to
make up the rest. He'd even give them some commission. You know, $20 or
something."

-------------------------------------------
'I did not see (Vass) punch anybody."
- Neighbour Asim Abbasi
-------------------------------------------

According to other friends, Vass had been sleeping in the shop early
this week even though his wife and 8-year-old son Michael live in
Mississauga.

Father Joseph Mate of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church said Vass' wife
Zsuzsanna was worried about him in the days leading up to his death
because he had been agitated, a result of his manic depression for which
he had been treated at the Queen Street Mental Health Centre.

"I am very sad because I can't imagine this man wasn't having his
proper medication," said Mate. "It would be that he was very excited and
very agitated."

The priest said the grieving wife described Vass as "a fine husband."

Vass' three sons, Attila, Frank and Michael, and two daughters, Anne
and Katherine, ranged from ages 8 to 19 and all were baptized at St.
Elizabeth, on Sheppard Ave. E.

"He used to offer mass for his parents and brother and sometimes come
to church during the week," said Mate. "He was a family and church-loving
man."

Vass shared one child with Zsuzsanna, 8-year-old Michael, who is
staying in Hungary with his grandmother. "He keeps asking for his father
and she doesn't know what to say to him. The only thing they can think to
say is that he was sick," said Phyllis, a receptionist at the office where
Vass worked as a real- estate broker for the past year.

A funeral service will be held for Vass at St. Elizabeth at 10 a.m.
Tuesday.

Files from Bill Taylor and Michelle Shephard

GRAPHIC: PHOTO: OTTO VASS: Beaten by three men at store, sources say.

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 11, 2000

August 12, 2000, Saturday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 881 words

HEADLINE: TAKEDOWN VICTIM BLAMED PROBLEMS ON COURTS

BYLINE: Jim Rankin

BODY:

Man, 55, owed thousands in support payments

Otto Vass felt the world had done him wrong. His real estate business
was down, his home was gone and he was nearly penniless, at least
according to paperwork he filed in a recent application to escape child
and spousal support payments.

Vass, in fact, owed his first wife, Kathleen, a staggering total of
more than $120,000, according to a 1998 family court file.

The 55-year-old, who died early Wednesday morning in a west-end
parking lot during a violent police takedown, blamed Canadian laws for
ordering the sale of a home in East Caledon he had built for his former
wife and four children, and for making him pay so much in child support
after their 10-year marriage ended in divorce in 1990.

According to court documents filed in Toronto, Vass was stubborn,
going to court 10 times trying to have the amount lessened or the support
quashed altogether. In that time he made just nine support payments.

"It would appear that few, if any, payments were made voluntarily by
the applicant," Mr. Justice George Walsh wrote in a March 24, 1999,
decision dismissing Vass' latest application. "Any payments made on
account were collected by the Family Responsibility Office through
enforcement proceedings."

-------------------------------------
Eyewitness to fracas yelled 'Stop!'
-------------------------------------

The government, left to make up for the missed payments, finally began
to garnishee Vass' real estate wages. Vass claimed he was broke.

--------------------------------------------------
'There was nothing he could do. I was horrified'
--------------------------------------------------

Vass died during what several civilian eyewitnesses have described as
a beating by four Toronto police officers in a College St. parking lot
Wednesday morning.

Two witnesses say police made the first violent move. They have told
the media the officers appeared to be speaking calmly with Vass in the lot
outside a 7-Eleven store when one of the officers shoved Vass, a large
man, to the ground.

A different version has been put forward by sources within the police
community. Those sources say officers arrived at the lot believing Vass to
be the victim of a beating inside the store. The sources said three men
had beaten Vass and had fled before police arrived. Vass, the sources
said, had a puffy face and cuts on his body.

The sources said Vass punched one of the officers in the face after
they asked him for identification, leading to a violent takedown. Two more
officers arrived and helped subdue Vass, the sources say.

A third witness told The Star yesterday she did not see what led to
the takedown but went to her window after hearing some yelling and first
saw two, then four, officers punch, kick and use a baton on Vass.

The woman did not want her name published. She has been interviewed by
the special investigations unit, the civilian body that investigates
incidents involving police in which people are injured or killed, and said
she chose initially not to speak with the media out of fear of the police.

She said she watched the altercation from her fifth-floor apartment.

Initially, she said, it appeared two officers were trying to subdue a
large, possibly belligerent man.

When two more officers arrived, it began to look more like a one-sided
beating, the woman said. Vass was on the ground, at one point on his
stomach, she said. She could hear him hollering and saw his arms flailing.

"There was nothing he could do," the woman said. The beating, she
said, continued.

"I was horrified. I in fact yelled out, 'Stop.' But I was way above
them. I'm sure they couldn't hear me."

The woman used binoculars to look closer and saw that Vass' face was
"all bloodied."

She said it seemed to last forever.

When Vass' body became still, police started to perform CPR, she said.

In a 1998 affidavit, Vass described how he had lost everything to his
ex-wife 10 years earlier and had not seen their four children since 1996.
A court had ordered that his wife get the house and custody of the
children, and that he would not have access to them until his "emotional
stability" had been established.

Vass said in his affidavit that the courts had left him homeless and
that Canada had done him wrong - just like his homeland of Hungary, which
he left at a young age.

"As a child of 11 years old I had to leave my birthplace . . . because
of the Hungarian Revolution," Vass wrote. "I left behind my friends and
toys and pets. My adopted country Canada is doing the same thing all over
again."

The SIU has chosen to withhold preliminary autopsy results for now.

"Wherever possible, we have released preliminary results of an
autopsy," said SIU spokesperson Gail Scala. "But there have been times in
the past where we believe that releasing it will jeopardize the
investigation."

SIU investigators have seized surveillance tapes from the 7-Eleven
store. The agency isn't saying what the tapes show, nor addressing reports
that Vass had been involved in an incident involving others in the store
before police arrived.

Several witnesses have been interviewed by SIU investigators following
an appeal by the civilian agency for information and a door-to-door
canvass. The SIU asks anyone with information to call (416) 622-1886 or
(800) 787-8529, ext. 22038.

GRAPHICS: PHOTO: OTTO VASS: Man died amid altercation with police officers
on Wednesday.

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 12, 2000

August 15, 2000, Tuesday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 622 words

HEADLINE: VICTIM WAS HIT IN HEAD: SOURCES

BYLINE: John Duncanson and Jim Rankin

BODY:
Vass said to have made grab for officer's gun

Otto Vass, who collapsed during a violent struggle with police last week,
was hit on the head - as well as the arms and legs - with a blunt object
consistent with a police baton, sources say.

While it doesn't appear that he died of a heart attack, sources say,
more testing has to be done to confirm that it wasn't the cause of death.

That has turned the spotlight on the four officers involved in the
arrest of the 55-year-old Vass.

Police and legal sources have said the officers who arrived on the
scene didn't know Vass or anything about his past - a chaotic, checkered
life, which included a history of mental illness and run-ins with the law.

According to a version of events put forth by sources in the police
community last week, Vass initiated the takedown by punching one officer
in the face.

Now police sources say that after Vass threw the punch, the
altercation escalated when Vass twice grabbed for an officer's holstered
gun as he was being held on the ground and violently struggling with
police.

Two civilian witnesses give a different version of events.

Asim Abbasi, who lives across the street from the west-end 7-Eleven
where the incident took place, said he saw the altercation with his
roommate Amir Hameed. Abbasi maintains Vass did not provoke the attack,
which they described as a "beating."

"I didn't see him grabbing for the guns," Abbasi said. "I don't think
that it happened that way. There was nothing like that."

Abbasi said he was not close enough to hear the exchange, but he had a
clear view of what happened. The pair say the first two officers appeared
to be speaking calmly with Vass when one officer suddenly pushed him to
the ground.

Yesterday, police union officials met behind closed doors to discuss
the case and its ramifications. They would not comment about the incident.

SIU spokesperson Gail Scala said yesterday the civilian agency isn't
commenting on preliminary autopsy results it has received from the chief
coroner's office.

The 14 Division officers involved in the arrest early last Wednesday
morning, which involved a violent takedown near a College St. 7-Eleven
store, are all considered junior in rank. The longest-serving officer has
been on the force for only about four years.

Officers are supposed to avoid hitting suspects in the head, but
sources confirm Vass was hit there with a blunt object like a police baton
during the violent confrontation.

The SIU is trying to determine through forensics and videotape
evidence whether police blows contributed to his death.

Investigators then have to determine whether the four constables named
as subject officers - those involved in the arrest - were justified in
using the amount of force they did in arresting Vass.

The first two officers on the scene, sources say, were Constables Rob
Lemaitre and Phil Duncan. They were joined by two other officers, Nam Le
and Felipo Bevilacqua, as they tried to subdue Vass as he was on the
ground. At one point, sources said, Vass screamed: "I'm going to get you
pigs."

--------------------
SIU probing death
--------------------

Aside from the role of the police, the SIU has to determine whether a
previous altercation between Vass and one other man led to his death.

Police were initially called to the 7-Eleven for a report of a fight
or disturbance.

When they arrived, only Vass was there. Whoever he was fighting with
had left.

Officers are taught in use-of-force training to use their police
batons only on the legs and arms in order to stop a suspect who is
fighting with them. This type of training is intensive and involves
having officers hit a live subject - another officer covered in red
padding.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO: VASS

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 15, 2000

August 15, 2000, Tuesday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 1093 words

HEADLINE: OTTO VASS LIVED, DIED VIOLENTLY

BYLINE: Jim Rankin and John Duncanson

BODY:
--------------------------------------------------
'I began to notice sudden behavioural
changes such as extreme mood swings,
irrationality, periods of hysterical laughter
and violence.'
- Kathleen Vass, first wife of Otto Vass
--------------------------------------------------

Documents show man suffered from depression

Criminal and civil court documents show Otto Vass had a history of
violence, which he attributed to his manic depression and failure to take
medication.

The 55-year-old man also came to a violent end. Early last Wednesday
in the parking lot of a west-end 7-Eleven store, he died after becoming
the subject of a police takedown.

The court documents, obtained by The Star, show that in September,
1993, Vass voluntarily checked in to the psychiatric ward of Mississauga
Hospital. Throughout his life, he had been in and out of hospitals at
least a dozen times.

This time, the deteriorating health of his brother had brought on
another spell of deep depression. Vass would later state in court records:
"The situation was taking its toll on me. . . . I was not sleeping well,
and I became more mentally unstable."

On Sept. 13, 1993, registered nurse Sharon Appleton came in to Vass'
room to give him his medication. Vass refused.

According to a transcript of his 1993 assault trial, Vass screamed at
the nurse: "I'm eating." He then jumped out of the bed and told Appleton,
"I'm going to kill you."

Appleton was thrown to the floor. Vass rammed her head into the frame
of the bed. The nurse lost consciousness, but that didn't stop Vass from
kicking her.

Vass was charged with assault and uttering threats by Peel Region
police.

In a letter to police, the hospital said Vass had a history of
assaulting others, including an incident in which he threatened an
unidentified police officer with a knife.

It was also noted that he had a history of reckless driving and has
been "known to be non-compliant" with his medication. He was described in
the letter as "a threat to the safety of others."

Vass seemed to know just how much he needed to stay on his medication.

When he pleaded guilty in a Brampton court in October, 1993, to
assaulting Appleton, Vass told the trial judge he was eager to keep taking
lithium drugs "because obviously it helps."

He was sentenced to 42 days, time he had already served in jail
awaiting trial. But he later appealed the conviction, claiming that the
hospital "failed to appreciate the severity of my condition." Vass also
claimed not to have remembered the actual assault.

In a 1994 letter accompanying his appeal, a doctor who had been seeing
Vass for about a year described him as being "quite happy" and found no
evidence of depression or psychosis. He was continuing to take lithium on
a precautionary basis.

The doctor ended his letter by writing that he felt Vass' prognosis is
good "and it's anticipated that he should do well in the future."

The appeal was dismissed.

Vass, who came to Canada from his native Hungary with his parents at
the age of 11, discovered early on that he needed help. At the age of 17,
he was hospitalized and underwent shock treatment.

Vass' first marriage was only a year old when his wife Kathleen
discovered the man she had married in 1980, when she was just 17, had been
battling psychiatric illness for most of his life.

"I began to notice sudden behavioural changes such as extreme mood
swings, irrationality, periods of hysterical laughter and violence,"
Kathleen Vass said in an affidavit.

Vass checked himself in to the Queen Street Mental Health Centre.

Soon after his return home, he had a visit from RCMP investigators.
According to his ex-wife's affidavit, Vass informed the investigators that
he had been hospitalized about 10 times, including stays at the
Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre and institutions in Europe.

------------------------------------------------------
'I became anxious about continuing to have children'
------------------------------------------------------

After the birth of the first of their four children in 1981, Vass'
wife started taking birth control pills. "I became very anxious and
concerned about continuing to have children," she said in court documents
filed in Barrie.

Vass owned a large guard dog, which, according to the divorce files,
he would leave in the yard when he left his wife alone. His wife felt the
dog was there to make her too afraid to step into the yard.

According to the divorce files, Vass soon discovered his wife was
taking birth control pills, took them away from her and then "forced
himself" on her. That led to the birth of a second child in 1982.

Vass' behaviour seemed to improve, but he was admitted again to Queen
Street after the birth of a third child in 1983. He was diagnosed as manic
depressive. After his release two months later, he tried to kill himself
with an overdose of pills.

Vass, who was a landlord, part-time real-estate agent and draftsman,
also set fire to a rental property in an attempt to oust unwanted tenants.
He pleaded guilty to arson in 1985 and spent two months in jail.

After his release, he made efforts to get his life in order and, for a
couple of years, he accomplished just that. There was a fourth child, and
Vass picked up a piece of property in Caledon with dreams of building a
home for his young family.

For 10 months, while the home was under construction, the family lived
in a small cottage on the property in substandard conditions, according to
Vass' wife's affidavit.

Once again, Vass became ill. He spent 2 1/2 weeks in hospital and
returned to the cottage to supervise the building of the home. But he
stopped taking his medication.

It was the beginning of the end for the marriage. The couple separated
in April, 1988. Vass' psychiatrist called police to have his patient
committed to hospital.

In a divorce Vass hotly contested, a court ordered he lose custody of
the children, have no visiting rights and that the dream home be sold.

In a rambling letter to the judge, Vass argued the court had no right
to interfere with his access to the children.

"I am a stable person documented by my work history and doctor's
report," Vass wrote. Two letters were included in the file - one from a
psychiatrist Vass saw after a car accident. The psychiatrist felt he was
just fine.

The judge felt otherwise and ordered the children to stay with their
mother. Vass was ordered to pay support, something he rarely did. By 1998,
he owed more than $120,000.

Vass married a second time but that marriage, too, would later
crumble.

Lately, Vass lived out of his west-end junk shop, where he was not
well-liked by neighbours.

Early last Wednesday morning, Vass was having a very late barbecue at
his shop. According to an acquaintance, he was missing hot sauce and went
off to the 7-Eleven to fetch the missing ingredient.

Vass never came back.

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 15, 2000

August 15, 2000, Tuesday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 367 words

HEADLINE: VASS COVERAGE RIDDLED WITH ANTI-POLICE BIAS

BODY:
Re Witnesses say police beat man who died at store (Aug. 10) and Trio
beat man before police got to the scene (Aug. 11).

When will The Star start practising fair reporting and stop practising
anti- police bias?

For a newspaper that advocates civilian review of police activities
you lose all credibility when you unfairly report the facts.

In your first report, you insinuate that Otto Vass was beaten to death
by the police. The follow up the next day (with a much smaller headline)
gives another version of the events, yet twice in that report The Star
suggests to its readers that this account is not to be believed.

One only has to analyze the size of the headline type to see the bias.
The headline suggesting the deceased was beaten to death was 3/4" in
height and spanned five columns. A real attention- grabber. The
conflicting story the next day had a headline one-third the size spanning
one column. This story continues on page A16, where a headline saying
Eyewitnesses sticking to their stories, increased to 1/2", spanning two
columns.

If that weren't enough, you saw fit to place a highlighted comment
that again insinuates that Vass was beaten to death, smack dab in the
middle of the article ("I did not see (Vass) punch anybody").

Not only do you blatantly discount the second version, you do not name
your " sources," yet you have no problem naming those who support your
views. What leads you to believe the "eyewitnesses" and not your
"sources"? Will you at some point tell us the reasons?

The unfortunate thing is that some readers accept your reporting as
the truth.

As a case in point, I was asked by visitors last night how I felt
about "the cops beating that guy to death."

You had the chance to fairly report the facts as they were known.

You chose to slant those facts to further your own agenda. If you
truly believe in civilian review then let the civilian investigators do
their job.

As a retired police officer, I have far greater faith in the Special
Investigations Unit than I do The Star. The SIU at least gives the
officers the opportunity to be tried fairly and for all the facts to be
heard.

Robert Anderson
Ballinafad, Ont.

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 15, 2000

August 16, 2000, Wednesday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 698 words

HEADLINE: MOURNERS RECALL 'GENTLE' OTTO VASS

BYLINE: Amira Elghawaby

BODY:
`He was always around, trying to help us'

Family and friends of Otto Vass murmured Hungarian prayers as the
haunting sounds of organ music filled the St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church.

"The tragedy which caused Otto's death is unbelievably serious," Rev.
Joseph Mate said during yesterday's funeral service, which drew about 50
mourners.

"He was a good man, a religious member of (this) church . . . I loved
Otto, I respected him and I know I will continue to keep him in my heart
and pray for him again and I ask you to do the same."

Vass died after he collapsed during a violent struggle with four
police officers last Wednesday outside a west-end 7-Eleven store.

The incident is being examined by the special investigations unit, the
civilian body that investigates incidents involving police in which people
are injured or killed.

The picture painted yesterday at the Sheppard Ave. and Bayview Ave.
church by those who knew Vass differed from the one that emerged from
court documents obtained by The Star earlier this week.

The 55-year-old father of five, whose mental illness, marriage
breakdown and refusal to pay child support had been well-documented, was a
valuable member of the Hungarian community, numerous friends said. They
described Vass as " kind" and "gentle."

Katherine, his 17-year-old daughter from his first marriage, told The
Star she had never seen evidence of her father's documented manic
depression.

"He was such a happy man. He was always smiling and always so good to
us," she said.

She added that she was struggling to fathom her father's death.

"It's unimaginable," she whispered. "I started screaming, I just
couldn't believe it."

Vass died in the early hours of Aug. 9.

Sources say constables Rob Lemaitre and Phil Duncan, who were later
joined by officers Nam Le and Felipo Bevilacqua of 14 Division, were
responding to a call about a fight at the College St. convenience store.

When they arrived, only Vass was there. Whomever he was fighting had
left.

When they stepped outside, Vass was asked for his identification,
police sources said. Vass then punched an officer and reached twice for an
officer's holstered gun, the sources said.

Two civilian witnesses have said Vass didn't provoke the incident in
the parking lot next to the store.

Evidence of blows to his head, arms and legs by a blunt object,
consistent with a police baton, was found on Vass' body, sources said
Monday.

Gail Scala, spokesperson for the SIU, said yesterday that all police
equipment worn by the four officers that night was seized by SIU
investigators.

That would likely include their police-issued Glock handguns, batons
and even their uniforms, she said. The equipment and clothing is
undergoing forensic testing.

The SIU has not released the preliminary autopsy report and refuses to
comment on media reports that Vass was hit by police with a baton.

The SIU may be able to determine if the dead man's fingerprints are on
Duncan's gun or holster.

Four police officers have been designated as subjects of an SIU
investigation. Eight others have been designated witness officers.

Mourners expressed disbelief and outrage at the police version of
events.

"He did have manic depression," said Dave McCormick, Vass' childhood
friend and godfather of three of his children. But, McCormick said, "he
was a good man. He would have done anything for you."

His previous employer, Daniel Strukel, and colleague Judas Antonia
said Vass was a hard-working and pleasant man.

"Yes, here and there his . . . temper came out, but he was always
willing to help people," Strukel said.

"Even if he had been belligerent, are you telling me four men cannot
arrest one man? I'm sorry, I don't believe it," said Klara Szocs, a
principal at the Hungarian school attended by Vass' youngest son, Michael.

Last Christmas, she said, Vass had volunteered to help decorate the
tree at the school.

"He was always around, trying to help us," she said.

Following the funeral procession to York Cemetery, she began to cry.

"You wonder what God has in mind when things like this happen."

With files from John Duncanson

GRAPHIC: PHOTO:

COMMUNITY GATHERING: Rev. Joseph Mate led about 50 family, friends and
members of Toronto's Hungarian community in a funeral service for Otto
Vass, who died last Wednesday during an encounter with police. PHOTO RENE
JOHNSTON/TORONTO STAR

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 16, 2000

August 16, 2000, Wednesday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 341 words

HEADLINE: VASS DEATH RAISES TROUBLING QUESTIONS

BODY:
Police are called, a confrontation occurs and suddenly a mentally ill
man lies dead.

The drama played out in the parking lot of a west-end Toronto
convenience store last week is a familiar and unfortunate one.

Add Otto Vass to the list of men - Wayne Williams, Edmond Yu and
Lester Donaldson - suffering from mental illness who have died in a
confrontation with Toronto police.

The circumstances surrounding Vass' death after a tussle with four
officers are unclear. Some eyewitnesses say that Vass, who had a long
history of psychiatric problems, did nothing to provoke the altercation.
Other people say the man threw a punch at one of the officers and tried to
grab one of their guns. There are questions, too, about the experience, or
lack of it, of the officers who attended the call.

The conduct of all four is being probed by the Special Investigations
Unit, which investigates deaths and serious injuries involving police.

But senior officers and the civilians who oversee the force should be
asking their own questions.

Inquest juries have provided police with good advice about how to
handle incidents involving the mentally ill. The question is, what has the
force done with these recommendations? And what more should it be doing?

"We don't seem to use the compassionate approach when dealing with
people with mental illness and again we have tragedy," said lawyer Julian
Falconer, who has acted for the families of men killed by police.

"Lip service is being made to accommodate the special needs of the
mentally ill."

Police officers are not psychiatrists. Nor are they social workers.
But when the call for help comes, they are the first ones who respond.

It's not enough to give officers batons, pepper spray and guns to do
their job. They need the training to use alternatives to force, especially
when dealing with the mentally ill.

The deaths of Williams, Yu and Donaldson were tragic evidence of the
need to improve police training.

Sadly, Vass' death may be proof once more.

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 16, 2000

August 17, 2000, Thursday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 425 words

HEADLINE: VASS FACED PRIVATE ASSAULT CHARGES

BYLINE: John Duncanson

BODY:
Court appearance had been set

New court documents show that Otto Vass was due to appear in court
this month charged with assaulting two people who live across the street
from where he died during a violent struggle with police last week.

The charges in the July 6 incident weren't laid by police. The court
records show them to be a private citizens' complaint brought by Dennis
Pavao, who convinced a justice of the peace on July 19 that there were
grounds to lay two assault charges against Vass.

Pavao and Alda Cordeiro of College St. are listed as the victims in
the alleged assault by Vass, who died last Wednesday following a
confrontation with four police officers in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven
at College St. and Lansdowne Ave.

Reached last night, Pavao said the dispute with Vass originated before
they moved to the College St. area. He said he had no real animosity
toward the eccentric 55-year-old Vass and was actually surprised by his
violent end.

The province's special investigations unit is probing the incident in
which Vass died, trying to determine if the police use of force in
arresting him was reasonable or excessive. The agency, which probes all
incidents where citizens are killed or seriously injured by police, can
either lay charges or clear the officers of wrongdoing.

The SIU has been tight-lipped about the incident, but sources have
indicated Vass was hit in the legs, arms and head by police batons during
the takedown. Police sources have said Vass called police officers "pigs"
and grabbed twice for an officer's gun.

Vass was supposed to be in College Park court on Aug. 24 to answer to
the citizens' assault complaint.

Normally, a crown will review these types of private criminal charges
to determine if they should proceed through the court system.

According to sources, the four officers at the centre of the SIU probe
had no idea whom they were dealing with when they showed up at the
convenience store for a report of a disturbance inside.

Vass, 55, had a history of mental illness and violence. In 1993 he
beat a psychiatric nurse unconscious when she tried to give him
medication.

The records indicate he also pulled a knife on a police officer,
although there are no details available about that incident in court
files.

According to the divorce file from his first marriage, Vass had been
in and out of psychiatric hospitals for the past 12 years.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO:

OTTO VASS: A justice of the peace found grounds for assault charges.

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 17, 2000

August 17, 2000, Thursday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 489 words

HEADLINE: RALLY DENOUNCES POLICE BRUTALITY

BYLINE: Graeme Smith

BODY:
Noisy protest held a week after man's death

Dozens of protesters denounced police brutality during a noisy rally
held one week after a man died in a struggle with officers.

About 100 people marched yesterday to the front steps of Toronto
police headquarters on College St. near Bay St.

They surrounded a few officers standing guard, pointed their fingers
and chanted, "You killed Otto Vass! You killed Otto Vass! "

Vass, 55, died last Wednesday outside a convenience store in the
city's west end. Witnesses say he was beaten by police. Police sources say
Vass punched an officer and reached twice for an officer's gun.

The crowd stood in silence to honour Vass' memory, then howled and
whistled as organizers demanded action against the officers involved.

"We would like to see charges laid," psychotherapist Bonnie Burstow
said.

The rally was organized by the Committee to Stop Targeted Policing,
which has complained police unfairly target minorities and people with
mental illnesses.

They point out that Vass is the latest of many mentally ill people to
die in confrontations with police.

Three recent inquests into the deaths of Wayne Williams, Edmond Yu and
Lester Donaldson have reviewed how officers deal with mentally ill people
and recommended changes in officers' equipment and training.

Maurice Adongo, a mental health outreach worker at Street Health, near
Dundas St. E. and Sherbourne St., said he wasn't surprised when he heard
about Vass' death.

"There is something vicious going on," Adongo said. "They are saying,
'Don't worry, we're just beating bad people.' And as long as we believe
that, we've got a big problem."

Police spokesperson Sergeant Jim Muscat emerged from the building to
talk about the issue.

"Under the Criminal Code, we are allowed to use force," Muscat said,
but his words were drowned out by protesters' jeers and he quickly
retreated inside.

The province's special investigations unit, which examines any deaths
or serious injuries when police are involved, is looking into Vass' death.
The SIU isn't commenting on autopsy results or the progress of its
investigation.

But protesters aren't waiting for the SIU's conclusion.

"We know all too well that people who suffer brutality at the hands of
police are often poor people, the mentally ill, and people of colour,"
said Karen Thom, who helped organize the rally. "We want to express our
outrage."

Dudley Laws, of the Black Action Defence Committee, said police have
ignored recommendations from the inquests into previous deaths.

"The killings of people of colour, of people with mental problems,
have continued over the years," Laws said.

Simon Strelchik, 18, listened from the edges of the crowd.

"I'm here because I want the police to know they have to stop beating
up and killing innocent people," Strelchik said.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO:

MAKING NOISE: About 100 people, many carrying signs, gather on the front
steps of Toronto police headquarters on College St. yesterday. The rally
was organized by the Committee to Stop Targeted Policing. RICK MADONIK/
TORONTO STAR

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 17, 2000

August 18, 2000, Friday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 564 words

HEADLINE: VASS' DAUGHTERS SEEK JUSTICE FOR THEIR FATHER

BYLINE: Graeme Smith and John Duncanson

BODY:
Blame police for his death in beating last week

Daughters of a man who died in a struggle with police attended a forum
of concerned citizens last night, looking for justice for their father.

Otto Vass, 55, died last Wednesday outside a convenience store in the
city's west end.

His daughters Anne, 18, and Katherine, 17, said they're upset the
officers involved aren't behind bars. And they condemned the media for
publishing sordid details about Vass' history, saying the coverage was
hurtful and irrelevant.

But they said it was encouraging to hear about three dozen members of
the community at the Christie-Ossington Neighbourhood Centre discussing
how to change police behaviour.

"It's a good start," Katherine said. "I want justice. I want the real
story to be out."

Witnesses say Vass was beaten by police. Police sources say Vass
punched an officer and reached twice for a police gun.

His daughters said the police sources' version of the incident isn't
credible. "They (police) are just scared because they know something will
happen," Katherine said.

"You can't tell me four officers can't handcuff someone without
beating him to death," she said.

They're bothered by some lingering details. They still haven't
received a white gold bracelet Vass was wearing when he died. They saw the
bracelet, which Vass got while visiting his former home in Hungary, on
television footage of the scene.

They're also troubled by reports that Vass was drinking alcohol before
he died. "My dad never drank alcohol, never did drugs," Katherine said.

And they're still disturbed after seeing their father's body at
Tuesday's funeral. "I didn't even recognize my father in the funeral
home," Anne said. " He was demolished."

They said it has been difficult to read the newspapers in the last
week. " How would you feel if those things were published about your
father?" Anne said.

"A witness told me he was crying for help," Anne said.

That account was confirmed by police sources, who told The Star that
investigators have interviewed a woman who yelled at police to stop
hitting Vass and heard the man say "Help me!"

Sources also say the province's special investigations unit has
interviewed those involved in a minor dust-up with Vass at the 7-Eleven
store at College St. and Lansdowne Ave. before his death.

The civilian agency is aware of other potential witnesses, but they
haven't convinced them to give statements.

One man who witnessed the entire arrest told The Star he feared
reprisals from the police if he told how he witnessed Vass' death.

Many of the participants in last night's forum had marched to police
headquarters on Wednesday to protest alleged police brutality. The crowd
of about 100 had called for charges against the officers involved with
Vass' death.

Many of the speakers said published details about Vass' record of
mental illness weren't relevant to the incident.

"All these things are used to erode the sympathy the public has for
him," said Iliam Burbano of the Latin American Coalition Against Racism.

The special investigations unit, which examines any deaths or serious
injuries when police are involved, isn't commenting on autopsy results or
the progress of its investigation.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO: VASS

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 18, 2000

August 17, 2000, Thursday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 842 words

HEADLINE: DEATHS SPOTLIGHT POLICE TRAINING

BYLINE: Michelle Shephard

BODY:
Critics question force's response to mental illness

Front-line police officers are inadequately trained to handle the
deluge of calls they face involving people with mental illnesses, says a
consultant to the police college.

But officers also are forced to handle cases that should never become
police matters, added Lana Frado, executive director of Sound Times
Support Services and a speaker at C. O. Bick College.

"I think the officers get frustrated, too, with what they have to
handle," Frado said yesterday. "Police cannot be expected to be the glue
that holds a broken system together."

Training for officers in how to handle such cases has increased over
the past three years, following recommendations made at inquests into the
deaths of Wayne Williams and Edmond Yu, both of whom had been diagnosed
with paranoid schizophrenia and were killed by police.

Yet two incidents in the past week involving people with mental
illness have spotlighted the issue once again.

Attempting suicide, Suzanne Killinger-Johnson jumped in front of a
subway train with her baby in her arms last Friday, killing her only
child. Police had earlier returned her to her family after she was found
acting strangely at a station.

Otto Vass left a corner store in police custody Aug. 9 and died after
a scuffle with four officers.

Both cases are being investigated.

Cuyler Killinger Johnson's death is in the hands of homicide
detectives, and Vass' case is being probed by the province's special
investigations unit.

Courses dealing with mental health issues were reinstated at the
college last year and mandated for the entire police force because of the
Yu inquest. An earlier course had been cancelled in 1994 in response to an
$88 million cut in the police budget.

-----------------------------------
'Sometimes we are amazed at the
misconceptions'
-----------------------------------

Courses titled "Crisis Resolution and Officer Safety" and "Policing
and Diversity" fill two eight-hour days. However, college spokesperson
Sergeant Fred Ellerby stresses that training in how to deal with
"emotionally disturbed people" is covered in most other courses.

Frado participates in two hours of the course involving a psychiatric
survivor panel - where officers get advice and ask questions of those who
have been involved with the mental health system.

"Sometimes we are amazed at the misconceptions that some of the
officers have, " Frado said. "I don't think two hours is enough to dispel
these myths."

Though many seem insightful and respond well to the sessions, Frado
said, in three years at the college she has also overheard officers
ridiculing their advice.

Dr. Peter Collins, a forensic psychologist who was formerly an
instructor at the college and still instructs specialized units, including
the emergency task force, said yesterday he couldn't comment on current
training standards or cases. But he emphasized the growing need for proper
training.

"It's crucial," he said, "for police officers to be trained in dealing
with all aspects of emotionally disturbed cases."

Ellerby feels the training is extensive, given the nature of the job.

"We are trained as well as we can be. It would be wonderful to be
trained as a forensic psychiatrist, but that's not possible."

When a police radio call comes in involving someone suspected of being
mentally ill, officers are advised the case is an EDP - an emotionally
disturbed person.

"Police do get called to many, many cases where they need these
skills," Collins said.

For that reason, front-line officers are often dubbed "social workers
with guns" or "street-corner psychiatrists."

Last year, city police apprehended 2,932 people under the Mental
Health Act and took them in for treatment, fearing they might be a danger
to themselves or someone else.

But some cases don't warrant apprehension or an arrest. For these, two
projects are being tested.

Scarborough's 42 Division is working with the Mobile Crisis Unit, a
division of the New Dimensions of Community Living program created by the
health ministry.

Officers must call the unit whenever they respond to an EDP case.

"We've had an informal relationship with them for years, whereas now
we can use them as a constant resource," Inspector Gary Ellis said. "We
have training and experience, but there is no doubt that we need help, and
it's always best to have the most qualified person on the job."

The project, which started July 1, logged 40 calls to the new combined
service in the first month.

Ellis is optimistic about the results. "In this city we have many
large organizations. We have the police force, the hospitals and the
mental health professionals, and everyone has a role to play. What we're
not doing well is the process of communicating with each other," he said.

This fall, a pilot project out of 51 Division will have an officer
responding to such calls together with a psychiatric nurse.

GRAPHIC: PHOTOS: Training for officers in how to handle emotionally
disturbed people has increased over the past three years, following
recommendations made at inquests into the deaths of Wayne Williams, left,
and Edmond Yu.

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 17, 2000

August 22, 2000, Tuesday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 317 words

HEADLINE: VASS WITNESSES SOUGHT

BYLINE: John Duncanson

BODY:
SIU releases surveillance video

The province's special investigations unit is trying to find witnesses
who were in a 7-Eleven store just before Otto Vass got into a violent
confrontation with police.

Yesterday, the SIU released still photographs taken from surveillance
cameras with the hope of identifying potential witnesses to the Aug. 9
incident that ended in Vass's death.

The Star has learned that pathologists have not determined what killed
Vass, 55. Police and legal sources say the case hinges on forensic tests
that may help pinpoint the cause of death.

Four officers are under investigation by the SIU. Eight other officers
are considered witnesses but likely arrived after Vass was dead.

Two civilian witnesses have told the media that the first two officers
on the scene appeared to be speaking calmly with Vass in the store's
parking lot at College St. and Lansdowne Ave. Witnesses both say the
officers suddenly pushed Vass down, initiating a violent struggle.

Police sources said Vass started the fracas by throwing a punch at one
of them. Sources said he called the officers "pigs" and reached twice for
an officer's gun.

Vass, a part-time real estate agent and father of five, was buried
last week. Friends and family were struggling to deal with media reports
about his history of mental illness and violence. In 1993, he beat a
psychiatric nurse unconscious when she tried to give him medication.

The records indicate he also pulled a knife on a police officer,
although there are no details available about that incident in court
files.

According to the divorce file from his first marriage, Vass had been
in and out of psychiatric hospitals for the past 12 years.

GRAPHICS: 4 PHOTOS: Investigators hope one of these people videotaped at
the 7-Eleven Aug. 9 knows something about Otto Vass' death.

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 22, 2000

August 23, 2000, Wednesday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 349 words

HEADLINE: POSSIBLE WITNESSES SURFACE IN VASS DEATH

BYLINE: Jennifer Quinn

BODY:
People approach SIU after surveillance photos published

A day after the province's special investigations unit released
photographs of possible witnesses in the death of Otto Vass, some have
stepped forward to tell the civilian agency what they know.

"We're pleased with the response that we've had," SIU spokesperson
Gail Scala said yesterday. "A number of people have come forward."

In addition, Scala said, the unit has received a number of calls from
others who say they know those pictured in the photographs who haven't yet
come forward.

Vass died Aug. 9 after a confrontation with police at a 7-Eleven store
at College St. and Lansdowne Ave. On Monday, the SIU released still
photographs taken from surveillance cameras in the hope of identifying
potential witnesses.

So far, pathologists have not been able to determine what killed Vass.
Legal sources have said the case hinges on forensic tests that could help
pinpoint what led to the death of the part-time real-estate agent and
father of five.

His family has hired Toronto lawyer Julian Falconer to represent their
interests as the SIU continues its probe of the 55-year-old man's death.

"The family has serious concerns about the circumstances leading to
Mr. Vass' death," Falconer said yesterday. "The family is concerned, to
ensure that no stone is left unturned and to ensure that the truth comes
out."

In the past, Falconer has represented the families of Wayne Williams,
Edmond Yu and Lester Donaldson, who were all shot and killed by police.

The family desperately wants to know how Vass died, Falconer said.

"I am instructed to take any and all steps to ensure the authorities
are held accountable," the lawyer said, noting a lawsuit hasn't been ruled
out but that no civil action has been filed.

Four Toronto police officers are under investigation by the SIU, which
probes all serious injuries and deaths involving police. Eight others are
considered witnesses but probably arrived at the scene after Vass had
died.

GRAPHIC: VASS

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 23, 2000

August 23, 2000, Wednesday, Edition 1

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 209 words

HEADLINE: CORONER OWES US ANSWERS ON VASS

BODY:
I have been following the story of Otto Vass with considerable
interest.

I firmly believe that the police are trying to cover up the events
leading up to Vass' death at the hands of the police. First, the police
said that Vass punched an officer, then Vass violently pushed one officer
for unknown reasons; now they say Vass tried to reach for the
officer's gun. All of these allegations are being invented so that the
officers look good.

Not to mention the fact that the coroner's findings were withheld from
being published, pending other investigations. What investigations?

The victim either died as a result of police brutality, or not. It is
very simple. The police better stop fishing for reasons, and the coroner's
office better come clean now. That the coroner's office did not disclose
the reason for this man's death is an indication that the police are
covering up for this crime. What are they trying to hide?

We need an independent medical examiner to determine the cause of
Vass' death and to set the record straight.

I hope the independent eyewitnesses will not be forced to change their
statements so that the police have us believe that they were right in
using such unwarranted force.

Nick Comsa

LANGUAGE: English

LOAD-DATE: August 23, 2000
Copyright 2000 Sun Media Corporation
The Toronto Sun

August 9, 2000, Wednesday, Final EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 23, SUNFLASHES

LENGTH: 65 words

HEADLINE: MAN DIES IN FIGHT WITH COPS

BODY:
A man has apparently died following a violent struggle with several
police officers in a parking lot at College St. and Lansdowne Ave. early
this morning.

A witness said she saw the man fighting with four officers. She heard
the large man screaming and went to her window to see him on the ground.

Police were not releasing any information on the man's death at press
time.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 11, 2000

August 10, 2000, Thursday, Final EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 4

LENGTH: 812 words

HEADLINE: SIU PROBES DEATH WEST-END MAN COLLAPSES UNDER POLICE ARREST

BYLINE: ALAN FINDLAY, IAN ROBERTSON AND SAM PAZZANO, TORONTO SUN

BODY:
A west-Toronto realtor and father of four who was controversial in life
has died under a shadow while in Toronto Police custody.

The man, identified by neighbours as Otto Vass, 55, died early
yesterday while police tried to arrest him on trespassing charges at a
College St. and Lansdowne Ave. 7-Eleven store around 2 a.m.

While some witnesses claim they saw officers hit Vass, the Toronto
Police Association denied officers injured him during an arrest while he
was apparently agitated.

Vass was pronounced dead as he lay sprawled on the pavement in front of
the convenience store shortly before 2 a.m. -- less than 100 metres from
where he was temporarily staying.

Asim Khan said he watched from across the street as one cop pulled Vass
to the ground and fell on top of him.

"The other one started beating him with a stick," said Khan, 30. "He
(Vass) was just screaming -- screaming in pain."

Witnesses described one male cop lying on Vass and punching him on the
head as the other beat him on the lower body with an asp, the standard
police issue rod.

'PSYCHIATRIC PROBLEMS'

"He was just screaming ... like he was an animal or something," said
Amir Hameed, 27. "I just feel sad about it."

A court described Vass during a 1986 sentencing for arson as a paranoid
schizophrenic with a long history of psychiatric problems.

He lived in Mississauga, but had apparently been living for the past
few days at the College St. and St. Clarens Ave. home he inherited when
his mother died in March. His dad died about six years ago and a brother
died more than a decade ago, neighbours said. They characterized the home,
a block east of where he died, as an eyesore.

Police spokesman Sgt. Jim Muscat said police were called to the store
at 12:36 a.m. and removed Vass.

A store employee who didn't give her name said Vass and a younger man
had been fighting inside before police arrived.

An autopsy is scheduled for today. The civilian Special Investigations
Unit officers quickly took possession of the store's security surveillance
tape, SIU's Mike MacKinnon said, adding only that police were obviously
involved in the incident.

The civilian watchdog has designated four officers as subject officers,
meaning their actions are under scrutiny, and eight officers were named as
witness officers.

Police were called to the store after a group of men were reported
fighting inside with Vass, and officers found him enraged and out of
control, a source said.

When Vass resisted being calmed down and struggled, the officers got
him to the ground. They were handcuffing him when he died, a source said.

The face of the father of three adult children and a 10-year-old boy
from two marriages was already swelling and no blood was observed on any
of the police officers' uniforms, a source said.

Witnesses said police either pulled or coaxed Vass out of the store and
were talking peacefully with him for a few minutes.

A woman, who said she and Vass met for coffee on occasion, said he
might have taken a swing at the officers before they pounced. But from
then on, witnesses said, police rained down blows on the struggling,
fallen man.

An officer called for help and then told his dispatcher that Vass had
stopped breathing. Two witnesses said the arriving officers had also
joined in the fray.

"One kicked him in the face, and the rest were kicking him in the chest
and legs," said Vass's coffee companion.

BLEEDING FROM HEAD

Police and paramedics tried to revive Vass for several minutes. For the
next four hours, Vass' body, dressed only in a pair of green shorts, lay
on the pavement with an orange blanket draped over him. His knee was cut
and witnesses said he was also bleeding from the head.

A Toronto Police Association source said the man was not hurt by
officers during the arrest and may have died of a stroke or a blow during
a fight in the store. "Somebody beat this guy up and it's not police," the
source said.

"The officers will do their duty and co-operate with the SIU," said
association lawyer Gary Clewley.

"We're just waiting until the investigation is over before we have any
comment," added association boss Craig Bromell.

Vass was to be in College Park courts Aug. 24 to answer to a private
complaint laid against him on July 6 by a neighbour.

"Otto was a little odd when he didn't take his medication," said his
former lawyer Doug Rollo, who represented Vass in 1986. "He tried to put a
Molotov cocktail under the door," to get rid of some troublesome tenants,
Rollo said. "He was different."

At the dead man's house, the storefront is rented to one tenant who ran
a used appliance and junk shop. Another tenant lives in the basement and
another unit was up for lease.

Neighbours recently called the Toronto Humane Society because Vass'
German shepherd wasn't being cared for properly.

GRAPHIC: 1. photo of OTTO VASS 2. photo by Juan Fanzio UNDER INVESTIGATION
... Paramedics were unable to revive Otto Vass who collapsed after an
altercation with police early yesterday on College St. near Lansdowne Ave.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 10, 2000

August 11, 2000, Friday, Final EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 7

LENGTH: 412 words

HEADLINE: SIU MUM ON DEATH CAUSE WITNESSES SAY COPS BEAT BIZ MAN

BYLINE: ROB LAMBERTI, TORONTO SUN

BODY:
Ontario's police watchdog agency says it would "not be appropriate" to
disclose autopsy results while it probes the death of a man who witnesses
say was severely beaten by Toronto Police officers.

Otto Attila Vass, 55, died while being arrested for trespassing early
Wednesday in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store on College St. at
Lansdowne Ave. The man, who had been described in court as a paranoid
schizophrenic, refused to leave after a dispute with a person in the
store.

"I have determined that at this stage of our investigation it would not
be appropriate to release the preliminary results of the post mortem ...
as it may affect the integrity of our investigation," said Special
Investigations Unit director Peter Tinsley.

Some witnesses have said Vass was struck repeatedly by officers. A
Toronto Police Association source denied officers injured the man during
his arrest. The SIU named four subject officers and eight witness
officers in its investigation.

RAN SMALL BUSINESSES

Vass ran two small firms, Vass and Associates Paralegal and Sun-Tower
International Financing and Mortgages. He also worked at First National
realty and held garage sales.

Many neighbours said he was liked and respected, while others thought
he was the scourge of the College St.-St. Clarens Ave. area.

Some complained the store-front house he inherited was a smelly, messy
eyesore.

In contrast to his rundown property on College, his family townhouse in
Mississauga is well kept and tidy.

"I'm sorry, this time is not very good for me," a woman at the home
told a reporter yesterday.

Near his Toronto home, a 30-year resident who wanted to be identified
only as Janis said: "I just think he was not very well at times. When he
didn't take his pills he was ... argumentative.

"He'd just blow up and tell people to get off his property ... call
people names."

Vass was ordered to get psychiatric treatment in 1986 after he was
sentenced to six months for arson for trying to set fire to his Dufferin
St. house to drive away two tenants.

'VERY TALKATIVE'

But some of Vass' coffee-drinking mates at a nearby Coffee Time enjoyed
his company. "He's been very pleasant. He's very talkative," said
businessman Joe Antonacci.

"He was very knowledgeable about business. He would argue with you.
I've never seen him violent."

A neighbour said Vass had a 10-year-old son and, from a previous
marriage, an older son and two daughters in their 20s.

GRAPHIC: photo of OTTO VASS Called argumentative

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 11, 2000

August 13, 2000, Sunday, Final EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 18

LENGTH: 1324 words

HEADLINE: SOLITARY EAGLE SOARS JULIAN FANTINO IS A BORN LEADER

BYLINE: JEAN SONMOR, TORONTO SUN

BODY:
"Leaders are like eagles.

"They don't flock.

"You find them one at a time."

---

Why did it seem inevitable that Julian Fantino would be one of those
eagles? That he would one day be chief of the Toronto Police Service?
That's the question that was percolating in my head as I made my way to
police headquarters last week for an appointment with the man who seems to
have tamed the tiger of policing in Toronto.

I half expected the interview to be cancelled. The headlines that
morning screamed about one more mentally ill man dying after an
altercation with police. Eyewitnesses allege police had beaten Otto Vass
with a stick and that he'd been "screaming like an animal" before he died
face down in a parking lot at College and Lansdowne.

However privately upset Fantino may be about this latest tragedy, there
will be no sign in two hours of conversation that this day is exceptional.
As he says about his style of policing: "Somebody has to take charge,
bring a semblance of order and get business done. Some days are
event-driven and this is one of them."

Sure he gets angry. Former police services board chairman Susan Eng
described him as "out of control" at a '94 job interview for chief, when
the sensitive issues of race and homophobia were raised. But most of the
time, he's learned to deflect his anger about cheap shots into humour.

So he sits composed and smiling in a maroon leather chair in his
spacious office. Hanging on the wall there's an inspirational message
about leadership and, as he tells his story, it's soon clear that message
is for others -- he knows about leadership.

STOOD ALONE

He learned the hard way about standing alone. At 11 he was plucked from
school, playmates and everything he knew in Vendoglio, Italy, to make his
way in a school in west-end Toronto, where in 1953 he was the only
Italian. " Being Italian wasn't very popular," he remembers. "Italy had
come out on the wrong side of the war."

At first, the beatings happened daily but he learned to fight and
eventually his tormentors moved on to someone new. But the misery of being
shoved back two grades and the isolation of not knowing English kept him
out of most activities. He didn't play sports, he didn't hang out. He went
home after school to help his parents.

His brother, Peter, was old enough that he didn't have to go to school,
but could work alongside their father as a construction labourer. Their
mom got a job in a garment factory.

Still, no matter how lonely or hard those early schooldays were,
Fantino knew that when he got home there would be a sense of comfort, that
"everything would be all right. The attitude was always positive. And I
always went back to school the next day."

His formal education ended in Grade 8 when he was 15. Later, he'd go to
De Vry Institute and another private institution for electronics training.
But it left a big gap in his formal education so, when he decided on a
career in policing, he had to go to night school and take correspondence
courses to get the paper qualifications he needed.

Did this unique childhood set him up to be the solitary eagle and give
him the view from 30,000 feet that would allow him to lead?

His childhood memories are happy, he insists, but they centre on
working with the family renovating their first house. "We were a very poor
family," he repeats several times. And, although poverty may have been the
defining quality of his childhood, it certainly didn't inspire him to
chase money as the holy grail, or vow that he would one day be top dog.
His dreams were modest, his cousin Vivian Riva remembers. "I never would
have guessed he'd be a big CEO guy or police chief or anything. He didn't
talk like that."

Instead, the thread that runs through his life is doing the right
thing, following the rules, behaving in a dignified, principled manner and
requiring the same of others. He may now be a master at networking,
connected strongly to people in all walks of life, but he's still beholden
to no one, his friend Sam Ciccolini says. "When he became chief of York
Regional Police, he talked to all his Woodbridge friends at the party they
had for him. He told them to respect the law, because if they broke it, he
would be on the other side from them."

Even in his early 20s, when he was trying to satisfy his interest in
law enforcement by doing security for Simpson's Yorkdale, he was strongly
drawn to those who had visible integrity. In his work as an auxiliary
police officer, he first met legendary "supercop" Frank Barbetta.
Occasionally, sometimes when a little Italian translation was needed,
Barbetta called on him. Now and then Fantino had leads Barbetta was
interested in.

But, beyond that, the two likely recognized each other as soulmates.
Two years ago, when Barbetta died, it was Fantino who gave the eulogy in
the packed service. "A dear mentor" he said.

During our interview, Fantino, despite his tiredness, sparkled whenever
he talked about the two men who had most inspired his police career. The
first was Barbetta, he said proudly, showing a framed photo of the two of
them. "As much as I adore my family, I adored him. Even before I got on,
he treated me like I was a police officer. You wouldn't have known the
difference."

By the time he qualified for policing, Fantino already had "the makings
of a good career," he remembers. He was chief of security for the Miracle
Mart supermarket chain, with a dozen people reporting to him and
responsibilities in five or six centres.

But, his heart was elsewhere. He'd met Liviana, whom he has now been
married to for 30 years. In fact, his parents and hers had set it up -- a
nice young man with good prospects, a lovely young woman six years
younger, both from strong families from the north of Italy. "I was there
when they met," says Riva. "Julian was in police college and boarding at
our house. I was just a young impressionable adolescent but I remember
thinking how awkward it all was."

COMPASSIONATE

Who cared? For Livy, as everyone calls her, the important thing was
that they had "very, very similar upbringings" and that he called the next
week . "He was a very compassionate person with a good sense of humour but
tender with his family and friends," she remembers. "I knew he would be a
faithful husband and take his marriage vows very seriously."

They were married one year after he joined the force. And since then,
only once in the very early days has Livy ever even hinted she might
prefer him to have a more nine-to-five kind of job. "I could be succesful
in something else, " he told her "but I wouldn't be happy."

She understands and respects him for his great passion for his job.
"For his character, police work is the best job he could have," she says.

But did that mean being chief? Not necessarily. In fact, Fantino
insists the most important job he has is being a police officer.

He learned about leadership from Barbetta, but also from the late
Michael Burke, his boss in Toronto's first drug squad in the mid-'70s. "In
those days, Toronto was known as the speed capital of North America,"
Fantino says.

Responding to the crisis, Burke assembled a small group of dedicated
officers and went to work. "I learned a lot about leadership there. We
were all in awe of this man. We were darn good and we were on a major,
major high. We worked night and day and we would have gone to hell and
back with him."

Now, for Fantino, it's time for the eagle to soar, to give back some of
the lessons learned. It seems to be working. A year ago, the command was
in trouble. "There were a lot of little empires," says Andrew Clarke, who
works for the police union as a director. "Each station was its own little
police force."

Even formidable union boss Craig Bromell seems satisfied. He talks
about liking and respecting Fantino. "The word I like to use is
partnership," he says.

Now that's leadership.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 15, 2000

August 15, 2000, Tuesday, Final EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 4

LENGTH: 677 words

HEADLINE: FATAL GUN GRAB VASS WENT FOR COP'S PISTOL: SOURCE

BYLINE: ROB LAMBERTI, TORONTO SUN

BODY:
Otto Vass tried to grab an officer's gun during a violent struggle in
the parking lot of a 24-hour store last week that ended in the
businessman's death, sources say.

While in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven store on College St. at
Lansdowne Ave. last Wednesday with two officers, Vass tried to punch one
and as they rolled on the pavement, he grabbed for another officer's
service pistol, the sources said.

Witnesses have said Vass was beaten by police and injuries he suffered
were apparently confirmed by an autopsy that indicates he had been hit
about the body with asps -- which are telescopic nightsticks.

Consts. Rob Lemaitre and Phil Duncan, of 14 Division, were the first
officers on the scene responding to a call from the store.

"The man tried to suckerpunch one of the officers," the source said. "
That's how this started.

"He later went for the gun of the other officer. Twice," the source
said. "He had his hand on the end of it (the gun). What were they
supposed to think? That he's kidding?"

While the two officers and Vass were "rolling around on the ground,"
Consts. Man Le and Felipo Bevilacqua arrived on the scene, the source
said.

"This guy was not giving it up," he said.

Before the officers' arrival at the store, Vass, 55, had apparently
been involved in a scuffle with someone in the store, but wasn't injured.

Le was to hold Vass' wrists as other officers tried to handcuff him.

While trying to handcuff the man, Vass stopped breathing. Despite
attempts by both police and medics to revive Vass, he died.

Witnesses have said they saw Vass -- who has a history of mental
illness -- on the ground yelling as officers beat him and used their asps.

An autopsy was performed last week and the coroner's office barred
Toronto homicide detectives, who are conducting a parallel investigation,
from attending.

But the autopsy indicates injuries about the head, legs and arms appear
to show he had been hit with asps, the sources said.

The Special Investigations Unit said it won't comment on the autopsy
and the cause of death because it could affect the investigation, said
spokesman Gail Scala.

She would only say the probe into last Wednesday's custody death is
continuing.

Meanwhile, a 10 a.m. funeral for the father of four will be at St.
Elizabeth of Hungary church on Sheppard Ave. near Bayview Ave.

NO COMMENTS

Officially, no one is commenting on the case.

Acting Chief Steve Reesor said he's bound by law not to comment and has
faith and confidence in the process.

Toronto Police Association boss Craig Bromell has no comment about the
incident other than to say the union's board of directors fully supports
the four subject officers.

But a source said the incident is reflective of the growing gap between
inexperienced and veteran officers.

"This is not a Rodney King thing," said a source. "The politicians got
exactly the police force they wanted ... inexperienced guys who used their
discretion, and maybe didn't have as much knowledge or experience in such
situations."

The four officers who have been deemed subject officers have,
individually, no more than two years on the job, the source said.

"It doesn't mean it would be handled any differently" if experienced
officers handled the call, he added.

The source said if Vass wasn't taking his medication and "flipped on
them, they might not have had a choice" but to use force to arrest the
man.

"Policing a difficult situation is difficult for experienced police
officers with many years on the job, so I'm not sure whether you can make
that leap," countered Reesor. "They say certain things happen because of a
lack of experience.

"Our officers, when they complete their training ... are highly
trained, and they're considered to be fully trained when they complete
their probationary period," he said.

Part of their 18-month training includes dealing with emotionally
disturbed persons and use of force, he said.

"Even a two-year officer, they're a junior officer, but it doesn't make
them a rookie."

GRAPHIC: photo of OTTO VASS Died last week

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 15, 2000

August 15, 2000, Tuesday, Final EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 5

LENGTH: 732 words

HEADLINE: CHIEF'S FEARS COME TRUE

BYLINE: STEVE SIMMONS

BODY:
When he spoke at a community hall meeting three months ago, Julian
Fantino had no idea his words would return with such a daunting and
prophetic bite.

Words that now seem so sadly true.

The police chief was talking then about a proposed change in the
provincial Mental Health Act -- but he could have been talking about the
troubling incidents of the past several days.

- Fantino said, at that East York townhall meeting in May, that "it's
inappropriate for police officers to be dealing with the mentally ill on
the front line.''

- He said police are not trained to deal with the mentally ill.

- He said "things escalate quickly and often end in tragic situations
or criminalization of the mentally ill.''

- He said "it's a recipe for disaster for the mentally ill person and
police officers who have to respond.''

And then last week happened. Everything Fantino spoke about coming to a
troubling fruition. The subway jump of Dr. Suzanne Killinger-Johnson. The
unexplained death of Otto Vass. The focus on mental illness. And the
police, smack in the middle of more controversy, again.

Things, like Fantino said, escalate quickly and often end in tragic
situations. And with a finger pointed inevitably at the police --
sometimes rightfully, sometimes not.

A veteran policeman called yesterday wanting to talk about the uneasy
juxtaposition of the police and issues of mental illness. This is one of
those areas, he said, where right and wrong doesn't always translate into
right and wrong.

"I know there's been a lot of second-guessing of police in the subway
jump, '' the officer said. "What should we have done? What was the right
thing to do? Did we mess up?

"Well, I can tell you from experience, you can do the right thing and
it can wind up as the wrong thing. The police in this case, could have
taken her to the hospital, and who knows, she could have been released and
nothing would have been different. That's happened before. You take
someone for assessment, they get released, then what do you do?

"That's what happens when you get into these situations. We're not
qualified to make those decisions, but you do the best you can do. You use
your experience and make a determination. It's easy to sit back and say
the police screwed up. That's the way everybody wants to deal with
things.''

Sometimes, though, it happens. The police do screw up.

That may have been the case in the death of Otto Vass. The
circumstances now remain murky. The police, from afar, are looking
culpable. Stories are being leaked that make the assumption that Vass may
have been viciously beaten by police. The police credo being, if someone
comes at you using force, use force to retaliate. More force.

If Vass was mentally ill and foolishly fighting back, police didn't
consider the potential illness, only the force involved. That's what
police are trained to do. It's like Fantino said, not of this situation
but in general terms: "It's inappropriate for police officers to be
dealing with the mentally ill on the front line.''

But what do you do?

How do you know when enough is enough and too much is too much and
who's mentally ill and who isn't? Much as we'd like it to be different, a
cop can't be an officer and social worker and nurse and doctor and lawyer
and negotiator and psychiatrist all at the very same time. We want them to
be all of that but then you get a situation like the Otto Vass story and
realize it isn't possible.

According to Christie Blatchford's column in The National Post
yesterday, of the dozen or so officers who played a part in the apparent
apprehension of Vass, none had more than four years experience on the
force. And when you couple inexperience with mental illness and violence
and a situation thought to be out of control, the end result, as Fantino
predicted unknowingly three months ago, is tragic.

The difference between the two very public situations is the police had
some knowledge that the situation with Killinger-Johnson needed
intervention of some kind. With Vass, they were not aware of any history
of mental illness, just that they had to deal with a scuffle at a 7-Eleven
store.

There is no road map for each and every situation.

It may be inappropriate, as Fantino said, for the police to be dealing
with the mentally ill on the front line, but the question is this: What is
the alternative?

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 15, 2000

August 16, 2000, Wednesday, Final EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 5

LENGTH: 335 words

HEADLINE: COPS FLAYED AT VASS FUNERAL 'ALL I CARE IS THEY GO TO JAIL,' TEEN
DAUGHTER SAYS

BYLINE: ROB GRANATSTEIN, TORONTO SUN

BODY:
The struggle between grief and anger dominated the funeral of Otto Vass
yesterday.

As his family and friends mourned the death of the 55-year-old, they
also lashed out against the police officers involved in the violent
struggle that ended his life.

"Whoever did this deserves to be punished," said Vass' daughter,
Katherine, 17. "All I care is they go to jail.

"When they did this, were they thinking of his family, his children,
his wife?" she said after the funeral.

Vass died after a violent struggle with police officers in the parking
lot of the 7-Eleven store on College St. at Lansdowne Ave. last Wednesday.

Sources told The Toronto Sun this week that Vass, who suffered from
manic depression, twice tried to grab an officer's gun and threw a sucker
punch at one of the officers.

Witnesses reported seeing Vass being beaten by police, and an autopsy
shows he was hit on the body and head with police nightsticks.

The Special Investigations Unit is still probing the death.

FATHER OF FIVE

At St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church on Sheppard Ave. E., 75
mourners came to pay their last respects to the real estate agent, father
and friend.

Vass's black casket, draped in red roses, sat at the front of the
church as Rev. Joseph Mate conducted the solemn service in Hungarian and
English.

"We don't know what will come out good from the death of Otto," said
Mate, a longtime friend who baptized all five of Vass's children.

"I loved Otto, I respected him and will continue to keep his memory in
my heart."

Outside the church family and friends blasted police for Vass's death.
"Inexperienced police didn't know how to handle the situation," said Dave
McCormick, godfather of Vass's children. "It's just like the Canadian
version of Rodney King."

Klara Szocs, principal of the Hungarian school where Susan Vass, Otto's
wife, teaches, said he often helped out at the school.

"If we can't turn to the police to help us, who can we turn to?" she
said through tears.

GRAPHIC: 1. photo of OTTO VASS 2. photo by Stan Behal GRIEVING ... Family
and friends of Otto Vass -- including son Attila -- help escort the coffin
from St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church after service yesterday. Behind the
procession are Vass' wife, Susan, Mary Bago and daughters, Katherine, 17,
and Anne, 18.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 16, 2000

August 16, 2000, Wednesday, Final EDITION

SECTION: EDITORIAL/OPINION, Pg. 14, EDITORIAL

LENGTH: 414 words

HEADLINE: THE DEMONS WITHIN

BODY:
One was still clinging to life yesterday; the other was being buried.

One tried to commit suicide by jumping into the path of a subway train,
killing her baby son; the other was killed in a violent struggle with
police, the details of which aren't yet fully known.

But the connection between Dr. Suzanne Killinger-Johnson and Otto Vass
is an important one. Both battled mental demons.

Killinger-Johnson's story is as compelling as it is horrifying, but
not, as some have suggested, because she was a young, pretty
psychotherapist who lived in a nice house in a nice neighbourhood and had
a good, well-off family. Rather, we are stunned by her terrible act and
apparent mental turmoil because even with all these things going for her,
she and her baby were still beyond help.

How black must her nightmare have been - whether it was depression,
post-partum depression, or some other mental malfunction - that she
couldn't see the wealth of resources around her?

Vass, a businessman and father of four, had a long history of mental
problems and violence. The facts of his case - i.e., whether or not he
tried, as reported, to grab a police officer's gun; whether or not police,
as reported, beat him to death with their nightsticks - are up to the
province's Special Investigations Unit to determine.

But both cases point to our woeful lack of understanding of the
mysteries of mental illness and ways to treat and cope with it.

Too many people, in this city alone, are trying to cope on their own.
Too often, voices inside their heads drown out offers of help.

Fixing this is as complex and difficult for society as silencing the
demons clearly was for individuals like Vass and Killinger-Johnson.

There is no simple, one-size-fits-all solution. Yes, government
services can help, as can reformed mental health laws.

Money could help, too, to develop better treatment, therapies and
drugs. As Michael Wilson, the former federal finance minister whose son,
Cameron, committed suicide in the depths of depression in 1995, has noted,
only 3% of medical research money - not nearly enough - goes to mental
illness research.

If there were a quick remedy here, we would demand it from the
rooftops. Sadly, the best we can hope is that high-profile cases like
these will finally shed some light on the thousands of anonymous sufferers
of mental illness all around us. There, but for a tragic quirk of the
brain, go we. We must find better ways to help them.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 16, 2000

August 17, 2000, Thursday, Final EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 7

LENGTH: 380 words

HEADLINE: CROWD CRIES FOR ARRESTS FURY AT VASS DEATH

BYLINE: MICHAEL CLEMENT, TORONTO SUN

BODY:
Shouting that charges must be laid, a crowd of about 100 activists and
others railed against police brutality last night in the alleged beating
death of Otto Vass.

Vass died after being surrounded by police officers last Wednesday in
the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store on College St. at Lansdowne Ave.

Witnesses alleged Vass was brutally beaten by cops -- kicked, punched
and struck with police batons.

"We would like to see charges laid!" one speaker, Bonnie Burstow,
shouted during the demonstration last night in front of Toronto Police
headquarters on College St. Since 1989 "the boys in blue have killed five
psychiatric survivors," she said.

The latest alleged victim is Vass, 55, a businessman who had a history
of mental problems.

Other demonstrators criticized police for releasing information about
the man's past illness history and for claiming Vass tried twice to grab
for an officer's gun, something witnesses deny.

Activist Lee Zaslofsky criticized the media for blindly covering the
police point of view and not doing "investigative reporting" on the
killing.

Instead of "releasing slurs" and being in "damage-control mode" the
police should be in a state of "contrition," Zaslofsky said.

Mental health street worker Maurice Adongo criticized one police spin
put on the killing, as reported by a columnist.

'DON'T BEAT A MAN TO DEATH'

It went that all of the officers involved were relatively
inexperienced, because more experienced cops are leaving the force.

"What amount of experience do you need to h ave, to know that you don't
beat a man to death!" shouted Adongo.

Meanwhile, Vass was allegedly beaten so severely that the funeral
director apologized to Vass' wife for not being able to clean him up
better for viewing.

Lee-Ann McCormick, Vass' friend for more than 20 years, said the man
she saw in the coffin didn't even resemble the man she knew.

"He was black and blue, all his teeth were kicked out, his eyes were
puffy and swelled shut.

"The only recognizable part of him was his hair," she said.

McCormick too is furious that sources have told newspapers Vass was
violent last Wednesday night and grabbed for an officer's gun twice.

She said a man who witnessed his death did not see Vass grab at a gun.

NOTES:
-- With Files From Rob Granatstein

GRAPHIC: 1. photo of OTTO VASS Beating alleged 2. photo by Warren Toda
PROTEST AT COP HQ ... About 100 people gathered at Toronto Police
headquarters on College St. last night to protest the death of Otto Vass,
who was allegedly beaten by cops.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 17, 2000

August 20, 2000, Sunday, Final EDITION

SECTION: COMMENT, Pg. C3

LENGTH: 722 words

HEADLINE: SECOND-GUESSING JUDGMENT CALLS

BYLINE: HARTLEY STEWARD, TORONTO SUN

BODY:
Two incidents last week, neither of which has yet unfolded completely,
have brought down upon the Toronto Police Service a storm of criticism.

On the one hand, critics were angry at something police officers
allegedly did, but shouldn't have done; on the other, they were angry over
something police didn't do, but allegedly should have done. Both
occurrences involved civilians with some type of mental illness. In both
cases, the civilians died.

I think the incidents illustrate how diverse are the expectations we,
as a society, have for our police and how desperately we are in need of
some consensus on just what role we want our police to perform.

From across the social and political spectrum, I think we send to the
police a message so complicated, so contradictory in some cases, there is
simply no possibility that any extreme actions by police will meet with
universal approval. Police are, indeed, damned if they do and damned if
they don't.

In the first Toronto incident, witnesses claim police brutally beat to
death Otto Vass, a Toronto businessman with a history of mental illness,
in a parking lot after they were called to an altercation in a convenience
store on Aug. 9.

Witnesses said they saw police kick, punch and hit Vass with their
batons. A friend of Vass said he was so badly bruised she could hardly
recognize him in the coffin.

"He was black and blue, all his teeth were kicked out, his eyes were
puffy and swelled shut," she told the Sun. Critics are calling for charges
to be laid against the police involved; the province's Special
Investigations Unit is probing the incident.

Police sources say they used no more force than was necessary and that
Vass twice tried to grab the gun belonging to one of the officers. They
deny he was beaten.

In the other incident, a medical doctor and psychiatrist, Suzanne
Killinger-Johnson, jumped in front of a subway train with her infant son
in her arms Aug. 11. She was taken to hospital in extremely grave
condition. Her son died instantly.

Police are being criticized because only hours before the suicide
attempt they had talked to the woman. They had been alerted by TTC staff
and had actually taken her home from the subway station after they
discovered she had given them a false name.

One psychologist told the media that police should have recognized the
woman was a threat to herself and the infant and taken her to a hospital.

SOCIETAL DILEMMA

And therein lies the dilemma, not only for the police, but for the
society which hires them. Just how much responsibility do we want to give
to the police? Just how much do we want to rely on their discretionary
judgment in the face of a crisis?

Have no doubt that some of them, wherever Toronto cops gather for an
after-work drink, will this week be honing even further their already
well-honed rationale for the sort of force used to subdue Vass.

Many of them might think it was probably more than the participants
will ever admit to, and they don't care.

You weren't there, goes the argument. You don't want to be there.
You've given us that job. You don't know how threatened the police
officers felt. If they felt threatened for their lives, which they
apparently did, any force is justified. They are the ones who put
themselves in danger - on your behalf - only they can assess the danger
and the response necessary.

As a young reporter I asked a policeman who had shot someone dead
whether he had to shoot to kill. His reply reflected perfectly the police
paranoia that often results from questions regarding the use of force or
guns.

"You sound like you wish it was me who was dead," the young officer
told me.

Now comes the suggestion that the cops who dealt with Killinger-Johnson
should have made a judgment call - whatever the book said - and taken her
either to hospital or jail for her own protection and the protection of
her infant son.

I don't think you can make a call, after the fact, on which occasions
we want the police to use their judgment and on which we want them to go
by the book.

Don't we somehow have to come to some sort of consensus on how much
we're prepared to let them rely on their own judgment and how much we want
them to play strictly by the rules?

I think we have to decide how far we're prepared to trust them.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 21, 2000

August 22, 2000, Tuesday, Final EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 4

LENGTH: 307 words

HEADLINE: SIU HUNTS FOR WITNESSES EIGHT PEOPLE IN STORE NEAR TIME VASS FOUGHT
WITH COPS

BYLINE: JONATHAN KINGSTONE, TORONTO SUN

BODY:
Provincial investigators probing the death of Otto Vass have released
pictures of eight people who may have witnessed his struggle with Toronto
Police.

The six men and two women were customers in a 7-Eleven store on College
St. at Lansdowne Ave. at the time Vass died in the parking lot Aug. 9.

Their photographs, taken from the store's surveillance camera, were
released by the Special Investigations Unit yesterday in hopes they can be
identified and interviewed.

"We're just hoping to glean whatever information they may have," said
SIU investigator Jim Chapman.

"We're hoping these people can tell us what they saw and what they heard."

Investigator William Curtis said the shoppers were in the store within
15 minutes -- prior to or after -- Vass' 1 a.m. struggle with four 14
Division officers.

"We're asking that anybody who may know these people to call (us)," or
for the potential witnesses themselves to come forward, said Curtis.

Police were called after Vass, 55, had apparently been involved in a
scuffle with someone inside the store.

Sources told The Toronto Sun that Vass, who suffered from manic
depression, twice tried to grab an officer's gun and threw a punch at one
officer as they tried to arrest him.

Witnesses reported seeing Vass being beaten by police. An autopsy
showed he was hit on the body and head with police nightsticks.

Witnesses said they saw Vass -- a Toronto businessman and father -- on
the ground yelling as officers beat him.

While police were trying to handcuff the man, Vass stopped breathing
and died, despite attempts by police and medics to revive him.

The four officers who've been deemed "subject officers" by the SIU
have, individually, no more than two years on the job.

Anyone with information should call the SIU at 622-1988 or
1-800-787-8529, ext. 21988.

GRAPHIC: 1. photo of OTTO VASS Died in struggle 2. 8 photos WHAT DID THEY
SEE? ... These eight people are shown on surveillance cameras visiting the
store about the same time as Otto Vass died during a struggle with police.
SIU investigators want to talk to these people to determine what they saw
or heard.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 22, 2000

August 24, 2000, Thursday, Final EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 46

LENGTH: 114 words

HEADLINE: 4 OF 8 VASS WITNESSES CALL SIU

BYLINE: JOHN SCHMIED, TORONTO SUN

BODY:
Four of the eight witnesses sought by the investigators probing Otto
Vass' death have contacted the provincial Special Investigations Unit.

"We've had a very good response to the media appeal for witnesses," SIU
spokesman Gail Scala said yesterday. "We've heard from half of the people
whose pictures were released (Tuesday), as well as from others."

The SIU released security pictures of six men and two women who were
customers of a 7-Eleven store on College St. at about the time of Vass'
arrest by Toronto Police and subsequent death Aug. 9.

Investigators are hoping to track down anyone in the vicinity of the
store who can shed light on the death of Vass, 55.

GRAPHIC: photo of OTTO VASS Died near store

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 24, 2000
http://archives.theglobeandmail.com/s97is.vts?action=View&VdkVgwKey=/home6/usr/
local/gam/search/html/20000810/UPOLIM.html
http://archives.theglobeandmail.com/s97is.vts?action=View&VdkVgwKey=/home6/usr/
local/gam/search/html/20000822/USIUUM.html

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http://archives.theglobeandmail.com/s97is.vts?action=View&VdkVgwKey=/home5/usr/local/classifieds/deaths/19980702/92192332.html

VASS, Sophie

Thursday, July 2, 1998
VASS, Sophie
After a lengthy illness, on Tuesday, June 30, 1998. Beloved wife of the
late Frank Vass, Q.C. She will be greatly missed by her loving and
cherished daughter Eleanor Smith and her husband Paul, and by her darling
granddaughters; Paulette and Cathy. The family wish to extend their
sincere gratitude and thanks to Nora Zapata for her dedicated care and
compassion over the last few years. Friends may call at the Turner and
Porter Yorke Chapel, 2357 Bloor Street West, at Windermere, near the Jane
subway, from 2 o�clock Friday, July 3, until time of funeral service at 3
o�clock, with interment to follow at Park Lawn Cemetery.

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Police shouted down as demonstration
erupts Cries of 'shame, shame' hurled at officers as protesters pay
respects to man who died after confrontation outside store

RAVI UBHA
The Globe and Mail
Thursday, August 17, 2000

Toronto -- A demonstration outside police headquarters that began with a
moment of silence for a man who died last week after a confrontation with
police ended yesterday with shouting and accusations toward officers
inside.

About 150 people gathered to pay their respects to Otto Vass, 55, who died
outside a west-end Toronto convenience store last Wednesday. Witnesses say
he was beaten, and the Special Investigations Unit, the civilian agency
that looks into serious injuries or deaths in which police are involved,
is investigating.

"The reason we came out was to note the one-week passing [of Mr. Vass's
death]," said Karen Thom, from the Committee to Stop Targeted Policing,
which organized the rally.

"I don't want to live in a police state," Ms. Thom said.

Representatives from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Street Health,
the Black Action Defence Committee, as well as several others, addressed
the crowd with a loudspeaker, sometimes discussing specific incidents that
they had experienced with police.

During the protest, the crowd shouted "Shame, shame," and "Who killed Otto
Vass? You did, you did." Three officers stood watch outside the building.

An officer who was shouted down as he addressed the media was forced back
inside headquarters, but said he recognized the public's right to protest.

"Police are behaving like street bullies. We shouldn't have to be afraid
of being beaten up," said 18-year-old Simon Strelchik, who held up a sign
that read "Stop targeted policing now."

The SIU stepped in after Mr. Vass collapsed on the pavement outside a
7-Eleven store near College and Lansdowne streets.

He was pronounced dead soon after by paramedics.

Mr. Vass died surrounded by police officers, who had removed him from the
store after he had an argument with an unidentified younger man.

Four officers are being investigated by the SIU, and under the Police
Services Act, can refuse to be interviewed by investigators.

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SIU seeks shoppers for clues in man's death

COLIN FREEZE
Toronto Police Reporter
Tuesday, August 22, 2000

The eight people came and went in anonymity, but investigators hope they
carried off something more valuable than bottled water and packs of
cigarettes.

Outside a convenience store and late at night, the shoppers may have
picked up clues about the death of Otto Vass.

About two weeks ago, the 55-year-old man died surrounded by Toronto police
officers outside the College Street 7-Eleven where he had been involved
earlier in an argument with an unidentified younger man.

Mr. Vass's death is being investigated by Ontario's Special Investigations
Unit, which probes all cases of death or serious injury involving police
officers.

Some witnesses have been interviewed, but the SIU still wants to talk to
the eight people caught on videotape at the store around 1 a.m. on Aug. 9.
To find the potential witnesses, SIU officials took the unusual step of
holding a press conference yesterday at the agency's Mississauga
headquarters.

"At this time we haven't identified these people and we're reaching out to
the community to identify them," William Curtis, an investigator, said.

The people caught on videotape entered and left the store from about 15
minutes before police contact with Mr. Vass to 15 minutes after,
investigators said.

The SIU was notified of Mr. Vass's death around 2:30 a.m. and
investigators were dispatched immediately, SIU spokeswoman Gail Scala
said.

Few details of their findings are being released as the agency doesn't
want press accounts to influence the statements of potential witnesses.

The results of the autopsy on Mr. Vass have not yet been made public.
Yesterday, investigators would not say whether there was video
surveillance outside the store.

A representative of Mr. Vass's family is already showing signs of
impatience. Lawyer Julian Falconer sent a letter to the SIU yesterday
asking that the agency assure the family that all eight witness officers
have given their statements.

The probe is focused on four subject officers, who could face charges if
the probe finds grounds to lay them, and are not obliged by law to talk to
the agency. The witness officers are so obliged.

If the investigation had involved only civilians, "you can be darn sure
citizens would've been required to provide statements immediately," Mr.
Falconer said in an interview yesterday.
Copyright 2000 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
CBC TV

SHOW: THE NATIONAL ( 10:00 PM ET )

August 10, 2000, Thursday

LENGTH: 362 words

HEADLINE: Police Investigated

GUEST: VOX POP; AMIR HAMEED; GAIL SCALA [Special Investigations Unit]; VOX
POP

ANCHORS: DIANA SWAYNE / RICK BOGUSKI

BODY:
SWAYNE: Police officers in Toronto are under scrutiny tonight.
Investigators are trying to find out why a man died in their custody
yesterday. Witnesses say they saw police beating the man outside a
convenience store. Rick Boguski has the details.

BOGUSKI: In a Toronto neighbourhood, residents are still trying to
figure out what happened here, exactly how a 55-year-old man died.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I was in shock. Like I'm still-I can't believe it.

BOGUSKI: Late yesterday, Otto Vass [ph] was barbecuing when he ran to
the store for pop. A short time later he lay dead in the parking lot.
Vass was reportedly involved in an altercation inside the store when
police were called and tried to arrest him. This man says it was anything
but a routine arrest.

AMIR HAMEED: It was very aggressive, very violent.

BOGUSKI: Amir Hameed said he watched from his balcony as two police
officers beat Vass.

HAMEED: One was holding his hands on the ground and the other cop was
just beating the hell out of him. And he just banged him with his night
stick and baton and stuff and maybe for about three or four minutes, and
he was beaten up like an animal.

BOGUSKI: Two other witnesses tell CBC News the same thing: the police
punched the man in the head and clubbed him with a baton.

BOGUSKI: Police aren't commenting. Ontario's Special Investigations
Unit, a civilian watchdog, has taken over the case.

GAIL SCALA [Special Investigations Unit]: You know, give us a little
time to find out the facts, to finish our interviews with the eye
witnesses to find out more detail about what actually occurred.

BOGUSKI: Vass had a history of mental illness and run-ins with police.
Still, those who knew him are puzzled by his death.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: He's very pleasant, happy going all the time and
talkative.

BOGUSKI: It's a big-it's a complete shock.

BOGUSKI: Investigators are now looking at videotape from inside the
store, and today they received the results of an autopsy, but neither are
being released to the public, leaving people to wonder what really
happened here.

BOGUSKI: Rick Boguski, CBC News, Toronto.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 15, 2000

August 15, 2000, Tuesday

SECTION: DOMESTIC NEWS

DISTRIBUTION: Attention News/Health Editors

LENGTH: 505 words

HEADLINE: Toronto Deaths Highlight Vulnerability of People with Mental
Illness

DATELINE: TORONTO, Aug. 15

BODY:
"Two tragic events in Toronto last week have highlighted the fact that
people with mental illness are vulnerable in our society," says a joint
statement from the Schizophrenia Society of Canada (SSC) and the
Schizophrenia Society of Ontario (SSO).
The statement is in response to questions both organizations have
received about the deaths of Otto Vass, a 55-year-old man who died after a
confrontation with police, and Dr. Suzanne Killinger Johnson, a woman who
jumped in front of a subway train while holding her six month old boy. In
both cases, media reports indicate a connection to mental illness.
In the case of Otto Vass, Janice Wiggins of the SSO notes that
although she sympathizes with police officers who are called upon to make
split second decisions, "Police can and should do a better job of
recognizing and coping with situations involving the mentally ill."
Wiggins believes that recent changes to the Ontario Mental Health Act -
the so called Brian's Law - will help to reduce the number of dangerous
encounters between police and the mentally ill by making it easier for
people to receive treatment in their communities.
Wiggins believes that Brian's Law -- which comes into effect December
first -- may also have helped in the Killinger Johnson tragedy. "The new
provisions mean that police do not have to "observe" behaviour in order to
take steps to help individuals in distress. They can rely on third party
accounts. Other changes, such as the removal of the term "imminent" -- as
in a person facing imminent danger - wherever it appears, will assist
caregivers and other professionals in earlier intervention in harmful
situations, before a person deteriorates to the point where they may harm
themselves or others."
The SSC's Barry Boyack, while acknowledging the difficult task police
face, says that the case of Otto Vass reinforces the urgent need for
officers to receive training in how to deal with people who have a mental
illness. In particular, Boyack stresses the need for alternatives to
lethal force. "People with a mental illness may not respond to questions
or orders the way others do. This means they may require a different
approach - it does not mean that lethal force is the answer."
Boyack says that SSC's recommendations about additional training have
generally been well received by police forces, but notes "The issue needs
to be put on the front burner of every police force in Canada. One in five
Canadians can expect to experience a mental illness sometime in their
lives - one in a hundred will develop schizophrenia - this is far too many
people to ignore. Knowing how to effectively deal with someone who has a
mental illness must be part of every officers training."

CONTACT: Janice Wiggins, Executive Director, SSO, (416) 449-6830, ext. 23;
Stephen Faul, Director of Communications, SSC, (416) 445-8204, ext.27

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 16, 2000

August 21, 2000, Monday

SECTION: DOMESTIC NEWS

DISTRIBUTION: Attention News Editors

LENGTH: 245 words

HEADLINE: SIU releases video stills

DATELINE: TORONTO, Aug. 21

BODY:
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is attempting to locate witnesses
known to be in the 7-Eleven store 1269 College Street, Toronto on August
9, 2000 who may be able to provide SIU investigators with information
concerning the incident involving Otto Vass and Toronto Police officers.
The SIU is seeking the public's assistance in locating these
witnesses. Still photographs taken from the video surveillance tape in the
store were released this afternoon. The photographs contain images of
customers who may be able to provide information to the SIU.
The SIU is appealing for anyone who has information concerning this
incident to contact the Unit at 416-622-1988 or 1-800-787-8529 ext. 21988.

/NOTE: Photo images are available via e-mail in JPEG format from
the
SIU./

The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates circumstances involving
police and civilians which have resulted in serious injury, sexual
assault or death. Under Part VII, Section 113, of the Police Services
Act, the Director of the SIU has the sole authority to decide whether
or not charges are warranted based on the findings of a complete
investigation. The Director's decision is reported to the Attorney
General.

CONTACT: Gail Scala, SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES,
Telephone/No. de telephone: (416) 622-2342, or/ou 1-800-787-8529

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 22, 2000

August 21, 2000, Monday

SECTION: DOMESTIC NEWS

DISTRIBUTION: Attention Editors/Assignment Editors

LENGTH: 148 words

HEADLINE: Photo Op - SIU investigation into death of Otto Vass

DATELINE: TORONTO, Aug. 21

BODY:
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is attempting to locate witnesses
known to be in the 7-Eleven store 1269 College Street, Toronto on August
9, 2000 who may be able to provide SIU investigators with information
concerning the incident involving Otto Vass and Toronto Police officers.
The SIU is seeking the media's assistance in locating these witnesses
and will release still photographs taken from the video surveillance tape
in the store. The photographs contain images of customers who may be able
to provide information to the SIU.

WHEN: 2 p.m.

WHERE: SIU offices
5090 Commerce Boulevard
Mississauga, Ontario
(off Eglinton, just west of Renforth)

CONTACT: Gail Scala, SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES,
Telephone/No de Telephone: (416) 622-2342 or/ou 1-800-787-8529

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 22, 2000

August 21, 2000, Monday, Final EDITION

SECTION: EDITORIAL/OPINION, Pg. 15

LENGTH: 718 words

HEADLINE: HINDSIGHT CRITICS JUST UNREALISTIC

BYLINE: HARTLEY STEWARD

BODY:
Two incidents last week, neither of which has yet unfolded completely,
have brought down upon the Toronto Police Service a storm of criticism.

On the one hand, critics were angry at something police officers
allegedly did, but shouldn't have done.

On the other, they were angry over something police didn't do, but
allegedly should have done. Both occurrences involved civilians with
records of mental illness.

In both cases, the civilians died.

Police are, indeed, damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Witnesses said they saw police kick, punch and hit Vass with their
batons. A friend of Vass said he was so badly bruised she could hardly
recognize him in the coffin.

GRAPHICS DESCRIPTIONS

"He was black and blue, all his teeth were kicked out, his eyes were
puffy and swelled shut," she told the Sun. Critics are calling for charges
to be laid against the police involved.

The police claim they used no more force than was necessary and that
Vass twice tried to grab the gun belonging to one of the officers. They
deny they beat him with their nightsticks.

In the other incident, a medical doctor and psychiatrist, Suzanne
Killinger-Johnson, jumped in front of a subway train with her infant son
in her arms last week. She is in extremely grave condition in hospital.
Her son died instantly.

One psychologist told the media that police should have recognized the
woman was a threat to herself and the infant and taken her to a hospital.

Have no doubt that police, wherever Toronto cops gather for an
after-work drink, will this week be honing even further their already
well-honed rationale for the sort of force used to subdue Vass.

Many of them might think it was probably more force than the
participants will ever admit to, and they don't care.

You weren't there, goes the argument. You don't want to be there.
You've given us that job. You don't know how threatened the police
officers felt. If they felt threatened for their lives, which they
obviously did, any force is justified. They are the ones who put
themselves in danger -- on your behalf -- only they can assess the danger
and the response necessary.

As a young reporter I asked a policeman who had shot someone dead
whether he had to shoot to kill.

His reply reflected perfectly the police paranoia that results from any
questions regarding the use of violence or guns.

JUDGEMENT SECOND-GUESSED

"You sound like you wish it was me who was dead," the young officer
told me.

Now comes the suggestion that the cops who dealt with Killinger-Johnson
should have made a judgment call -- whatever the book said -- and taken
her either to hospital or jail for her own protection and the protection
of her infant son.

I don't think you can make a call, after the fact, on which occasions
we want the police to use their judgment and on which we want them to go
by the book.

Don't we somehow have to come to some sort of consensus on how much
we're prepared to let them rely on their own judgment and how much we want
them to play strictly by the rules?

I think we have to decide how far we're prepared to trust them.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: August 21, 2000

August 22, 2000, Tuesday, Final EDITION

SECTION: EDITORIAL/OPINION, Pg. A10

LENGTH: 727 words

HEADLINE: POLICE DAMNED IF THEY DO, DAMNED IF THEY DON'T

BYLINE: HARTLEY STEWARD, SPECIAL TO THE FREE PRESS

BODY:
Two incidents last week, neither of which has yet unfolded completely,
have brought down upon the Toronto Police Service a storm of criticism.

In the first Toronto incident, witnesses claim police brutally beat to
death Otto Vass, a Toronto businessperson with a history of mental
illness, in a parking lot after they were called to an altercation in a
convenience store on Aug. 9.

Witnesses said they saw police kick, punch and hit Vass with their
batons. A friend of Vass said he was so badly bruised she could hardly
recognize him in the coffin.

"He was black and blue, all his teeth were kicked out, his eyes were
puffy and swelled shut," she told the Toronto Sun.

Critics are calling for charges to be laid against the police involved;
the province's Special Investigations Unit is probing the incident.

Police sources say they used no more force than was necessary and that
Vass twice tried to grab the gun belonging to one of the officers. They
deny he was beaten.

In the other incident, a medical doctor and psychotherapist, Suzanne
Killinger-Johnson, jumped in front of a subway train with her infant son,
Cuyler, in her arms Aug. 11. She was taken to hospital in extremely grave
condition and died last Saturday. Her son died instantly.

One psychologist told the media that police should have recognized the
woman was a threat to herself and the infant and taken her to a hospital.

Many of them might think it was probably more than the participants
will ever admit to, and they don't care.

You weren't there, goes the argument. You don't want to be there.
You've given us that job. You don't know how threatened the police
officers felt. If they felt threatened for their lives, which they
apparently did, any force is justified. They are the ones who put
themselves in danger -- on your behalf -- only they can assess the danger
and the response necessary.

As a young reporter, I asked a police officer who had shot someone dead
whether he had to shoot to kill. His reply reflected perfectly the police
paranoia that often results from questions regarding the use of force or
guns.

"You sound like you wish it was me who was dead," the young officer
told me.

Now comes the suggestion the cops who dealt with Killinger-Johnson
should have made a judgment call -- whatever the book said -- and taken
her either to hospital or jail for her own protection and the protection
of her infant son.

I don't think you can make a call, after the fact, on which occasions
we want the police to use their judgment and on which we want them to go
by the book.

Don't we somehow have to come to some sort of consensus on how much
we're prepared to let them rely on their own judgment and how much we want
them to play strictly by the rules?

I think we have to decide how far we're prepared to trust them.

NOTES: Hartley Steward is a columnist with Sun Media Newspapers. His
columnappears Tuesdays.

LOAD-DATE: August 22, 2000