MEDICAL PROBLEMS PLAGUED MOUNTIE

VICTORIA - RCMP Const. Barry Schneider may have died of a heroin
overdose, but his fellow officers are certain of one thing: He wasn't
a rogue cop.

Medical problems seem far more likely to be at the root of Schneider's
overdose death, said several officers, most of whom asked not to be
identified publicly.

RCMP have launched a full-scale investigation into the Nov. 29 death
of Schneider, who served much of his career in drug enforcement and
the last two years as drug awareness co-ordinator for northern
Vancouver Island.

"I really think that someone (in the RCMP detachment) would have been
able to tell" if Schneider, 43, had a long-standing drug problem, said
a 30-year veteran officer.

"After you've worked in the area (of drug enforcement) for a while,
you really can tell" when someone is on drugs, he said.

RCMP are adamant that no one ever saw any sign of a long-standing drug
problem with Schneider, who'd sworn off alcohol four years ago.

What fellow officers did see was a series of medical problems
worsening through the last months of 2000 for Schneider.

Cpl. Pete Zuberski, his colleague in drug awareness for the southern
part of the island, said Schneider had health problems for as long as
he'd known him.

"This isn't a cop-gone-bad, drug-deal kind of situation," he
said.

Rather, Schneider was an officer trying to cope with a
digestive-system problem and severe pain in one leg, which caused him
to walk with a limp and to rely on Tylenol 3 for pain control. Other
officers had noted him coughing a great deal in the last months of his
life as well, something they attributed to his heavy smoking.

In the last six months of 2000, he'd had to take sick time from work,
had spent time in hospital and undergone numerous tests to try to find
the root cause of his health problems.

Initially, Schneider had stomach problems, once complaining that he
got into severe distress while taking a shower and had to be rushed to
hospital, the former colleague told the Victoria Times Colonist.

In the couple of weeks before he died, his doctor was apparently
trying to get him off Tylenol 3 and on to another less addictive pain
killer, one colleague said.

Family spokesman Greg Phelps confirmed that Schneider had suffered
from medical problems, but said the family did not want to talk
publicly until the investigations by the Mounties and by the coroner's
office are completed.

Those who knew Schneider say he was a devoted and loving father and
husband and believe it is unlikely he committed suicide, because he
would not have wanted to be found by his family. He has two
daughters, aged 12 and nine.