Detective receives social justice award

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An Edmonton police officer has received the first Social Justice Award of the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW). On Oct. 19, Detective Freeman Taylor was recognized for bringing justice in the long-outstanding murder case of an Aboriginal woman.

Joyce Cardinal was brutally assaulted the night of Nov. 27, 1993, said Gerry Shimko, deputy chief of the Edmonton Police Service.

Cardinal, 36, was walking home from a house party when she got lost in a maze of condo pathways in Edmonton. She knocked on a stranger's door for help. A young man who answered the door couldn't understand what she was saying because of her severe speech impediment. He went out and walked with her a short distance before deciding to rob her. When she didn't have anything to give, she was beaten and a short while later set on fire by the same man.

Cardinal suffered third-degree burns to more than 70 per cent of her body and she died in hospital almost a month later.

"Detective Taylor responded to the scene. He was horrified by what he saw, but he was determined to bring the person responsible to justice," said Shimko. After initial investigations and an offer of $40,000 by the Edmonton Police Commission for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible, no one was arrested.

Detective Freeman continued to follow the prime suspect who lived in British Columbia.

"Every couple of months I would check to see where he was at. People like that normally keep themselves in trouble," said Taylor.

In August 2000, Todd Elliot was arrested. The accused pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole for 15 years.

"Our job is to make any effort to bring closure to the family members and loved ones, and to bring justice to those responsible for the crime," said Taylor.

"After we arrested Todd Elliott, I called family members of Joyce. I could feel the tears of joy in my own eyes. When I met them in person, the appreciation was shown to me through their tears, through their hugs and through their handshakes. Nothing can ever be more rewarding.

"We must reaffirm that no matter whether the case is a decade old or a week old, no matter what the race, economic status or sex of the victim, we must continue to pursue those responsible with the same intensity," Taylor said.

Cardinal's family members from Wabasca presented the detective with a token of appreciation: a painting of a cardinal bird to remember Joyce Cardinal and how grateful they are to him for solving her murder.

"This evening brought back memories, but it's a relief, now we can move on. It's a good feeling," said Leonard Cardinal, Joyce's brother.

In 1995, names of 110 Aboriginal women who have been murdered in Western Canada were put on a list of murders where no one was charged, said Muriel Stanley Venne, president and founder of IAAW.

"Here was a man who solved one of the murders. We, as the Aboriginal women's organization, have to honor and encourage the dedication of this officer in the Edmonton Police Service," she added.

Since its foundation in 1994, the IAAW has been standing up for the rights of the Aboriginal women and trying to change attitudes towards them.

"We honor our own women in Esquao Awards every year and deal with discrimination, which Aboriginal women are faced with on daily basis," Stanley Venne said.

The evening concluded with a fashion show featuring Aboriginal designers.