Fled to Thailand: Mysterious life, murder of Canadian cop-gone-bad explored in new film

[webfact]

Mysterious life, murder of Hamilton cop-gone-bad explored in new film
Brian Hutchinson

VANCOUVER – John Hanmer was a cop, a skilled undercover operator. He came from a family of police officers. His father, Murray, was an inspector with the Hamilton Wentworth Regional Police Force.

His older brother, Michael, was a decorated sergeant who busted drug traffickers. His sister Cathy patrolled next door in suburban Halton.

But Hanmer was forced to resign from the HWRPF. It was political, Michael says.

And then he did the unthinkable: Hanmer joined a biker gang, the notorious Satan’s Choice, one of Ontario’s toughest at the time. He became an enforcer, and he excelled. “He turned out to be one of the heavyweight members, well respected,” his younger brother Paul recalls in a revelatory new documentary film that premieres Saturday at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

The only problem, Paul tells Toronto-based filmmaker Chelsea McMullan, is that his brother “had a habit of taking other peoples’ money.” When a cocaine deal went sideways, Hanmer double-crossed an associate, taking $30,000.

He then fled to Thailand in 1988. leaving behind his wife and two children – Michael and Shannon. They rarely heard from him; they rarely spoke of him. They never saw him again.

Meanwhile, Hanmer made enemies in Southeast Asia. He allegedly joined the Mad Dogs, a Thai motorcycle gang. In 1998, his local “business partner” was reportedly stabbed to death with an ice-pick. Two years later, while motorcycling around the Philippines with an 18-year-old girlfriend, Hanmer was ambushed and shot to death, apparently by underworld rivals toting M-16 assault rifles.

Full story: http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/former-cop-turned-bad-left-kids-in-canada-and-fled-to-thailand-where-he-fathered-two-more-with-the-same-names

-- NATIONAL POST 2015-09-25

[chrisinth]

I'll never look at the Mad Dogs with the same eyes ever again.............................

[rkidlad]

I once thought about joining a biker gang here. But after talking with the missus, I decided I'd stay in my office job.

[GeckosDiving]

And the morale of the story is...... When your a scumbag you should die like a scumbag !! Can I get an amen for M-16 assault rifles

Edited September 25, 2015 by GeckosDiving

[jaywalker]

I'll never look at the Mad Dogs with the same eyes ever again.............................

The Mad Dogs should file defamation charges.

I've met some of those guys in Pattaya. Not my cup of tea, but they seemed like they were about as harmless as the Jokers, and far more preferable to hang out with than any ex-Special Forces clowns I have met in Pattaya.

[timmyp]

Reading the article, this guy doesn't strike me as a particularly interesting or mysterious character. Throwing away your life for just $30,000 seems like pretty small time stuff. Perhaps the documentary will show that there is something more interesting here than just small-time crime, and more than a fool who got killed trying to be a tough guy in Asia?

[MisterTee]

And the morale of the story is...... When your a scumbag you should die like a scumbag !! Can I get an amen for M-16 assault rifles

Amen, bro.

Let's hope it acts as a warning to others like him.

There are enough low-life farangs here already that spoil the scene.

[empireboy]

Who said "Crime doesn't pay"?

It does, but sometimes the wages aren't great!

[tigermonkey]

Who said "Crime doesn't pay"?

It does, but sometimes the wages aren't great!

.....and the retirement is usually out of this world !

[Thongkorn]

I once thought about joining a biker gang here. But after talking with the missus, I decided I'd stay in my office job.

My Missus got kicked out of the Gestapo for being too cruel.

[silent]

1992 Beyond the Law. True tale with, (unfortunately) Charlie Sheen playing the undercover biker cop who got right into the character even fooling 100% of coppers he came across in the States.

Not as hard buying as the mysterious transformation of this Hamilton-Wentworth cop is for $30,000 (CDN), and with the end of the story like that in SEA, who knows.

[davehowden]

Wow, how exciting.

So a bent cop from Canada died in the Philippines 15 years ago, short of news day??

[puukao]

I ran into him in 1998, my fault i wasn't looking where i was going. he yells, "you got a problem?" i said, in thai, "mai bpen rai" then knocked him out.

and he took 300,000 not 30,000.

TV tough guy

[Geordie59]

The guy was nothing more than a low life thug and bully who lived by ripping off other foreigners but wasn't adverse to stealing from locals or his employers as well. After he ran away from trouble in Pattaya he continued his antics in Angeles City. He was actually on his way home from his bar when the street he turned into was blocked and they filled him full of holes. The girl (Thai I think) on the back of the bike was unharmed.

I saw more people celebrating his demise than sad about it.

[Colabamumbai]

"Every cop is a criminal." The Rolling Stones.

[cyberfarang]

Live by the sword, die by the sword, true to this very day.

[Time Traveller]

Reading the article, this guy doesn't strike me as a particularly interesting or mysterious character. Throwing away your life for just $30,000 seems like pretty small time stuff. Perhaps the documentary will show that there is something more interesting here than just small-time crime, and more than a fool who got killed trying to be a tough guy in Asia?

Read it again. It says he was from Canada. That is as exciting as life gets there.

[NOC]

One more sociopath with a badge and a gun. Nothing new here.

[chilli42]

He was shot by an M4 and died? Had to be more to it than that.

[farangmick]

And Thai son joins RTP. If blood runs true, he'll be a perfect fit.

[LC 100]

The guy was nothing more than a low life thug and bully who lived by ripping off other foreigners but wasn't adverse to stealing from locals or his employers as well. After he ran away from trouble in Pattaya he continued his antics in Angeles City. He was actually on his way home from his bar when the street he turned into was blocked and they filled him full of holes. The girl (Thai I think) on the back of the bike was unharmed.

I saw more people celebrating his demise than sad about it.

Yes, his girlfriend was Thai, she was also injured but not life threatening, anyone know what happened to John's pal Frank from Aus who used to manage The Classroom?