Nathan Arsenault had just witnessed the death of his best friend on Highway 223 when he was confronted by a Cape Breton Regional Police officer.
“I was hysterical, screaming and crying, saying my buddy was just hit by a car,” said Arsenault, recalling the immediate moments after 17-year-old Joneil Hanna was struck and killed by an oncoming car in Leitches Creek. “The officer was there by his police car and said, ‘Listen buddy, he wasn’t hit by a car, he was stabbed.’ “I screamed back and said ‘No, he wasn’t,’ because I was right beside him and I witnessed the whole thing.”
Arsenault says he’s still traumatized by the tragic loss of his close friend but he’s also furious about what he calls blatant misconduct by Cape Breton Regional police officers who investigated Hanna’s death during the early morning hours of June 10.
“That officer knew Joneil wasn’t stabbed. He knew the police screwed up that night and they were looking for a way to blame someone else for Joneil’s death. He was trying to scare me into saying something that wasn’t true, but I told the truth.”
Moments later he says he was whisked away to the Cape Breton Regional Police headquarters where he was detained and questioned by two different police officers over a six-hour period. Meanwhile, he would later find out from friends who were at the scene of the accident that the
driver of the car that struck and killed Hanna was escorted home by a woman shortly after the fatal collision occurred.
The Chronicle Herald spoke to that woman, who had been volunteering as a designated driver at a raucous graduation party about a half a kilometre from where the accident occurred. Arsenault said Hanna and the driver of the vehicle that struck him were among about 500 people who attended the event. The woman told the Herald she was asked by a police officer to give the driver a lift and that the young man showed clear signs of intoxication. But the driver was never subjected to a breathalyzer and last week police ruled out alcohol being a factor in the incident.
Arsenault is among three people the Herald spoke to who were at the party and they say they saw the driver drinking alcohol. Arsenault said one of his friends left the party with the driver about 20 minutes before the fatal incident. His friend had gotten into an altercation and a Cape Breton Regional Police officer instructed the driver to transport his buddy home.
“All this stuff needs to get out,” said Arsenault.“How does someone get hit by a car less than a kilometre up the road from a huge party and not get a breathalyzer? He was drunk. People
need to know the justice system is doing zero to hold the driver accountable and for Joneil’s family.”
Police had previously said that up to 20 officers were monitoring the party throughout the night. Cape Breton Regional Police would not respond to questions regarding allegations of potential police misconduct on the night of the fatal accident.
Justice Minister Mark Furey, a former RCMP officer, has said he has complete confidence in Cape Breton Regional Police and its handling of the fatal incident. He provided no further comment on Thursday.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate for the minister to provide further comment while this remains an open investigation with the Cape Breton Regional Police Service,” said department spokesman Andrew Preeper. “Nova Scotians who believe there has been misconduct committed by police officers can make complaints to the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner.”
Under the Police Act, Furey has the power to launch an investigation into police conduct but Preeper gave no indication the minister is considering the option.
Arsenault said he left the party by himself.
Within a few minutes he caught up to Hanna, who was walking home.
“He was crouched down on the side of the road on his phone when it happened. His feet were in the gravel, his backside was on the curb of the road.
“I thought he was on the phone with his mom when it happened. I was in hysterics and panicking.”
At the police station Arsenault said he was interrogated in two different rooms before heading home at about 11 a.m.
He said he was nervous and lied to his interrogators that he didn’t know who the driver of the vehicle was. But he said he called the police and met with an officer the next day to set the record straight.
“The officer took me to an abandoned school. He said, ‘I’m going to have to take notes today.’ “I was concerned that he didn’t have a video recorder and when I asked why, he said, ‘I’m just going to have to take notes today and put it in my file later.’” Arsenault says he’s concerned that the investigation will result in no charges being laid.
“That’s what I’m expecting. I’m expecting the system to fail Joneil and his family.
