Montreal Gazette

Edmonton police killer centre of ‘anti-Semitic hatred’ complaint

- JANA G. PRUDEN Otiena Ellwand contribute­d to this report

Police killer Norman Walter Raddatz posted on his Facebook page about bylaw tickets he considered “constant harassment” by “taxation pirates,” railed against the courts and government, called homosexual­s “sodomites,” and police “pigs.”

He maintained that the capitalize­d spelling of a person’s name on government and bank documents was part of a pervasive corporate conspiracy.

“They will have to drag me to court by force. I will not voluntaril­y enter a corrupt admiralty court,” Raddatz, 42, wrote on the social media site after receiving a bylaw ticket last summer.

Raddatz is the only suspect in the shooting death of 35-year-old Const. Daniel Woodall in Edmonton on Monday night. Sgt. Jason Harley survived after being shot in the back.

The body of a man believed to be Raddatz was found in the basement of the home after the shooting and a fire. An autopsy is being done to confirm the identity and cause of death.

Edmonton Police Service spokesman Scott Pattison said Wednesday the criminal harassment file being investigat­ed by Woodall and the hate crimes unit involved anti-Semitic harassment over more than a year. Pattison described it as a “lengthy campaign of anti-Semitic hatred and violence” against a man and his family. The man filed a police complaint a few months ago.

“It was taken extremely seriously. I think obviously to the point where Monday evening they were going to execute that warrant and address the situation,” Pattison said.

Police have said there were no indication­s Raddatz was part of the Freemen-on-the-Land movement, an affiliatio­n of extremists considered by the FBI to be a serious threat to law enforcemen­t.

Posts on Raddatz’s page clearly espouse views that reflect the Freemen movement and the broader sovereign citizen ideology in which people believe they are exempt from the law unless they consent to be governed by it.

The page is under the name Dino Stomper, but is confirmed to be Raddatz’s by multiple sources. It features pictures of his motorhome and bylaw tickets issued to his home address. A neighbour has described ongoing bylaw issues related to Raddatz’s motorhome, his home and yard.

The divorced refrigerat­or mechanic was in financial difficulty and described by friends as being depressed. His house was in foreclosur­e and being sold.

Raddatz had 16 Facebook friends, one of which was a separate account he had created for his dog. The whereabout­s of his dog since the shooting and fire are not known.

In May 2014, Raddatz wrote that his motorhome had been “stolen” by an Edmonton bylaw officer, a towing company and police.

“Unlawful seizure without warrant or just cause, and I was threatened with arrest!!,” he wrote.

A person who was inside Raddatz’s home several times said there were “numerous guns” and stockpiles of ammunition, and that he spoke openly about hating Jewish people and did not believe in paying taxes.

Raddatz also posted from the Facebook account he set up for his dog, sometimes interactin­g between the two accounts.

After posting an anti-gay cartoon image on his own account with the comments “Gross!!” and “Sodomites!!,” Raddatz responded from his dog’s account, writing “That’s Icky!!” and “Not even us Dogs do that!!! What the hell is wrong with Humans!!?”

 ??  ?? Norman Walter Raddatz
Norman Walter Raddatz

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