Family Of Const. Michael Sweet Speaks Out
Posted April 14, 2010 6:28 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The family of a Toronto Police officer murdered three decades ago spoke out for the first time Wednesday.
The now-adult daughters and widow of Const. Michael Sweet are calling for changes to Canada’s parole system.
“My dad was an honourable man,” daughter Nicole Sweet said, “and he would be horrified to know that his wife and his girls are having to deal with the torture of facing Craig Munro again and again.
“I am the youngest of the three daughters and from what I’ve been told about my dad, he would hate to know that my family is being victimized year after year because of Craig Munro. He belongs in jail.”
Sweet was shot during a botched tavern robbery on March 14, 1980. The men behind the heist, Craig Munro and his brother Jamie, refused to allow medical help and let the officer slowly bleed to death during a 90-minute standoff with police.
Sweet was on patrol when he walked in on the armed robbery in progress.
Last month Craig Munro was granted limited unescorted absences from prison. Sweet’s widow, Karen Fraser, and his children read victim impact statements at the hearing. OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino, who investigated the murder, was also there.
Munro is currently serving his sentence in a Kelowna, B.C. prison. The panel concluded he’d made progress in taking responsibility for his actions and granted him up to four passes a year.
That decision enraged Sweet’s family and police groups, too.
Sweet’s family has been pushing for changes to the Canada Corrections system that would allow them to see all reports and assessments on Munro.
Jamie Munro reportedly moved to Italy after serving his sentence for second-degree murder.
To Learn More About The Sweet Family’s Fight To Change The Parole System – Click Here.
