Kimberly Rogers Inquest Alerts

Kimberly Rogers Inquest: 2nd day
October 16, 2002

The testimony on Wednesday, October 16 was given by various police officers who came to Kimberly Rogers' apartment on the evening she died to investigate.

• Although the heat wave at the time was well documented, the police officers kept minimizing the temperature. While one of them stated that he saw a thermometer in her kitchen registering 34 C., he called that "in the mid 80's " F. Another officer said it was about 78! As well, in their questioning, lawyers for the government kept emphasizing that there was a fan in the apartment as well as two open windows (but the windows in her bedroom were not able to be opened).
  
  
• There was a window from a landing onto a rooftop by which it was possible to get out of Kimberly Rogers' apartment and sit on the roof. Government lawyers kept emphasizing that Kimberly Rogers could have gone outside through that window, although no evidence has been given that she did.
  
  
• All officers stressed that the apartment was "messy", in "disarray", "untidy", one calling it "filthy". The photos showed three small rooms with clutter like mail and papers on tables, along with a glass, some snack foods, etc. They emphasized a plate with a pizza crust on it. It seems very important for the authorities to keep on stressing how this 8 ½ months pregnant, stressed woman stuck in her apartment in the middle of a heat wave was eating snack foods and not always cleaning up.

Naturally the media is going to focus on whatever evidence is given that day. Some days, when the evidence is all about the medications and the details of the scene, the larger context gets ignored.

But before this is over there will be plenty of evidence about how Kimberly Rogers had to survive on $18 per month after rent, how the fraud charge, house arrest and cancellation of her assistance affected her, and how she was fighting back.

Nancy Vander Plaats
Ontario Social Safety NetWork