'ADORED' DRUG OFFICER DIES OF HEROIN OVERDOSE

VANCOUVER - The RCMP is investigating how an officer who led a crusade
against drugs in Courtenay, B.C., got the heroin that killed him.

Constable Barry Schneider was found dead in his home on Nov. 29. It
was initially thought he died of natural causes as he suffered from
heart disease, but autopsy results found a lethal concentration of
heroin in his body. Cocaine was also detected.

Police said there is no evidence of any history of illegal drug use by
Const. Schneider, the RCMP's Drug Awareness Co-ordinator for Vancouver
Island. Police yesterday issued a statement saying they will examine
"all aspects of this case." "There are a myriad of unanswered
questions, including all those issues surrounding how Const. Schneider
may have been given, acquired, or come into contact with illegal
drugs. These issues will include for example, determining if proper
police drug exhibit procedures have been followed."

The initial post-mortem found that Const. Schneider died of natural
causes. But on Dec. 15, the Coroner's Service informed the RCMP that a
toxicology finding had detected a lethal level of heroin and some
cocaine. The findings so stunned police that they assigned
investigators to ensure the toxicology results were accurate. The
autopsy results were confirmed.

"This finding has come as a shock to us all. It is extremely
unsettling for Const. Schneider's family, for the police community and
for the citizens of the Island District who have benefited from this
officer's years of good service," said Jim Good, RCMP Superintendent
in charge of Vancouver Island. Supt. Good said a team of four
major-crime officers has been assigned to the case.

Const. Schneider was an undercover narcotics officer before becoming a
hero in the Comox Valley, about 200 kilometres north of Victoria,
because of a crusade against drug use he launched in schools. More
than 500 people turned out for the funeral for the 43-year-old
officer, who was married and the father of two daughters, aged nine
and 12.

Friends and colleagues were shaken by the news that heroin had killed
him.

"This is just staggering," said Ian Lidster, a friend and drug
counsellor who worked with Const. Schneider on the Comox Valley Drug
Awareness Committee."There was nothing in his behaviour or his
comments that would ever suggest he used drugs. I'm aghast. This has
absolutely blindsided me." Mr. Lidster said that on the day Const.
Schneider died, he complained of feeling ill and went home to rest.
One of his daughters later found him dead."There was never a hint that
he used drugs. It never came up in rumour or innuendo, and you'd have
thought I'd have heard something. "He told me once that he had never
used any kind of drug, ever.

"It is really strange. I have to ask, did somebody get to him, or did
somebody get him?" Police said there is no suspicion of homicide.
"There are a number of possibilities as to what transpired," said
Inspector Dave Zack, in charge of the Courtenay RCMP detachment.

"We are committed to conducting a complete and thorough investigation
and we are following up all investigative avenues." He said Const.
Schneider's death and the shocking autopsy results have been hard to
take.

"It's been very, very difficult for his fellow officers, and for the
community as a whole," he said. Mr. Lidster said Const. Schneider
launched a school program called DARE, for Drug Abuse Resistance
Education. He said Const. Schneider had a great rapport with the
children and his program was highly regarded.

"He was absolutely adored in this community. People were heartsick
when he died so suddenly." Ray Crossley, a youth outreach worker with
the Comox Valley Family Life Association, said Mr. Schneider was "just
a wonderful man" who did outstanding work in the drug awareness field.

"It's a small town. I work with young people in trouble. I haven't
heard a peep [about him using drugs] and I'm tuned in," Mr. Crossley
said.

"This has just caught me completely off guard." Diane Collins, program
manager for the John Howard Society in Courtenay, said Mr. Schneider
had led the fight against drugs in the community, and his death was a
great loss.

"The desire he had to make a difference was very sincere. He was very
passionate about it." She said he was a former undercover officer who
worked in Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside before moving to
Courtenay several years ago.

"It's easy to get sucked into the fun and excitement of drugs. But he
knew a lot about the down side of drugs. He knew the terrible impact
it could have on a person and a community. And he was able to
communicate that to young people," she said.

"I believed he died of a heart attack. That's what everyone
believed."