Kamloops This Week
A murder suspect arrested last week near Kamloops in connection with the stabbing of an undercover cop is the son of a former Edmonton police chief who stepped down amid a storm of controversy in 2000.
Kamloops This Week (KTW)has learned Mark Lindsay, the 24-year-old man who remains in custody following his arrest by Kamloops RCMP on Wednesday, Sept. 21, is the son of John Lindsay, former chief of the Edmonton Police Service.
John Lindsay resigned as police chief in November 2000 after months of controversy surrounding the department, including allegations he had been turning a blind eye to organized crime corruption within the force.
Mark Lindsay is the suspect in an Edmonton homicide investigation and had apparently been the target of an RCMP “Mr. Big” operation until he allegedly stabbed one of the undercover officers involved last week in Barriere.
The alleged stabbing took place at about 12:45 a.m. on Sept. 21, while Lindsay and the undercover officer travelled in a pickup truck from Edmonton to an unknown location in B.C.
The injured officer was able to call for medical help and Kamloops RCMP set up roadblocks north of the city.
Lindsay was arrested near McLure.
He is now facing charges in Kamloops provincial court of robbery and possession of a weapon.
Suspects in murder cases are sometimes targeted by the RCMP for so-called “Mr. Big” operations, in which undercover officers pretend to be members of a criminal organization in an attempt to gain the trust of the suspect.
Posing as criminals, the officers attempt to recruit their target into a fictitious gang.
Typically, the suspect travels across Canada performing tasks for the group — often involving moving packages and sometimes depicting staged violence.
The operations generally culminate in a meeting with a “boss” — Mr. Big — where the suspect is asked to come clean about any previous crimes.
While Lindsay has been identified by the RCMP as a homicide suspect, he has never been publicly named. It is also unknown what murder he is suspected of committing.
What is known is that Lindsay entered a guilty plea in August in an Edmonton courtroom to one count of assault with a weapon after stabbing his girlfriend, 31-year-old Dana Turner, in the head with a paring knife nearly two months earlier.
He was handed a conditional sentence order and an 18-month probation term and released from custody on Aug. 12. Turner went missing on Aug. 14 and has not been seen since.
Last week, after Lindsay had been arrested in Kamloops, Alberta RCMP released a statement saying they had found Turner’s vehicle, but wouldn’t say when or where it was located.
Police in B.C. and Alberta are not saying anything about Lindsay and the story is going largely unreported.
RCMP media liaisons in both provinces have been citing a publication ban on the file, refusing to offer any comments. While there is a publication ban on Lindsay’s file in Kamloops, there has been no bail hearing and no evidence has yet been banned.
Lindsay is slated to appear in a Kamloops courtroom on Monday, Oct. 3, for a bail hearing. It is not yet known if his father will be present for that hearing, or if he will attempt to act as a surety for bail.
John Lindsay is now a deacon in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton.
Attempts by KTW to contact him were unsuccessful.