Broadcaster Murdered

Ottawa television station CJOH went briefly to black last week, a rare suspension of its broadcast signal that marked a moment's silence to the memory of a fallen local hero. Brian Smith had played high-school football and junior hockey in Ottawa before going on to a professional hockey career that included two years in the National Hockey League. But Smith's reputation and local fame came later, as a longtime sports broadcaster for CJOH, the city's most popular television station. It was that recognition and fame, apparently, that got him killed.

Keywords

Crime

Smith, 54, who married for the first time only two years ago, was shot in the forehead and fatally wounded on Aug. 1, as he walked out of the CJOH broadcast centre at the end of his supper-hour broadcast. He died the next day, just a few hours after a man turned himself in at the courthouse. Jeffrey Arenburg, 38, a onetime scallop fisherman from Nova Scotia who was unemployed and living in the capital, was charged with first-degree murder and booked for 60 days of psychiatric assessment. Arenburg's lawyer, Michael Neville, said his client will plead not guilty when he returns to court on Sept. 29. Arenburg, who made an obscene gesture to journalists and spectators as he appeared in court, has run afoul of the law before. Complaining that he could hear radio broadcasts through his teeth, he attacked a radio station manager in Bridgewater, N.S., in 1992. Although he never showed up for his trial, he was found guilty of assault and fined $300 or two weeks in jail. But Bridgewater authorities decided that it was not worth their while to track him to his new home in Ontario.

The tragedy of Smith's death was compounded by the fact that he was simply an accidental victim of what police said was one man's dislike for the media. Even Ottawa police officers, accustomed to violence in a city that has changed dramatically since the distant days when Wilfrid Laurier could take the streetcar to work and Lester Pearson could walk down the Sparks Street Mall without bodyguards, described the killing as senseless. "Mr. Smith was in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Supt. Garry Rae. "This particular individual was angry at members of the media. Mr. Smith was the first personality he recognized." The gunman had stationed himself in the CJOH parking lot, about 60 m from the building entrance. When Smith walked out, witnesses said, the gunman took a .22-calibre rifle from the trunk of his car and fired two shots. One found its target. The man then nonchalantly returned the gun to the trunk and drove off.

At the time of the shooting, Smith was rushing to a charity banquet for the Children's Wish Foundation, which helps kids afflicted by life-threatening diseases. He and Brian Kilrea, coach of the Ottawa 67's junior hockey team and a longtime friend, were supposed to emcee the banquet and auction off hockey sticks donated by Eric Lindros and Patrick Roy. Organizer Garry Coburn recalled that when he started the annual event in 1993, he had trouble getting celebrities to participate. Characteristically, Smith agreed. "Smitty was always there," said Coburn.

By ironic coincidence, the killing came the same week that Statistics Canada reported that murder and violent crime are actually on the wane. The murder rate of 2.04 for every 100,000 people was down six per cent over a year, and now stands at its lowest in 25 years. Last year, 596 homicides were reported, compared with 630 the year before. All types of violent crime dropped by five per cent from 1993 to 1994, following a slight decline the year before. But police caution that the drop follows long years of rising crime rates.

Smith was born into a sports family. His father, Des, who died in 1981, played for the Boston Bruins in 1941, the year the team won the Stanley Cup. His brother Gary was an NHL goaltender for so many teams that he was nicknamed Suitcase. After his brief stint in the NHL, Brian Smith also played in the World Hockey Association. In 1973, he convinced Max Keeping, CJOH's veteran news director, to take him on as a sportscaster with the CTV affiliate. Sports was Smith's life, said his wife, Alana Kainz. And it was their life together: when the couple married in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., they were wearing golf clothes. The bill for the city hall ceremony was $80, recalled Kainz, and they both took out their wallets. "He said, 'I'll get the wedding, you get the green fees.' "

Smith's death left Ottawa's sports community in shock. At Ottawa Stadium, flags flew at half-mast for the baseball game between the Ottawa Lynx and the Scranton Red Barons. And players for the Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League raised their helmets in a tribute to Smith at their game last week, while the crowd joined in a one-minute cheer to celebrate Smith's life.

Police said they found a list of media personalities' names in Arenburg's apartment, and an official at the city's press club said a man had been ejected three times for unruly behavior while demanding to see various media members. Still, Keeping said the station had no plans to increase security. "We've made our reputation by being a community station," he added, "and that means the community must have access." In the end, events such as last week's tragic shooting remain impossible to predict - and just as hard to prevent.

Maclean's August 14, 1995

Author WARREN CARAGATA in Ottawa

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