RCMP Commissioner William Elliott calls the pace of internal RCMP discipline “glacial”.  No word on the speed of reform.

Tags: Police complaints, RCMP
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On October 25th, 2008, Orion Hutchinson was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a driver who later blew over the legal limit.  One would expect that driver to be immediately charged with impaired and dangerous driving causing death, but instead, it took the Delta Police over 7 months to recommend charges and another 6 months for the Criminal Justice Branch to make a decision.

On Tuesday, December 1st, the Criminal Justice Branch ignored the recommendations of the Delta Police and chose not to charge the driver, RCMP Corporal Benjamin “Monty” Robinson, with impaired and dangerous driving causing death.  Without explanation, the CJB chose only to charge Cpl Robinson with obstruction.  The public has been advised that the exceptional delay and lack of charges has nothing to do with the fact that the driver responsible for the death of Orion Hutchinson is a police officer.  This is Cpl Robinson’s second pass, as he also avoided trial for his involvement in the death of Robert Dziekanski.

The case is yet another example of a police officer involved in a death not facing charges related to the death.  It should be noted that never, in the history of B.C. has a police officer faced a criminal charge as a result of killing someone while on duty. It appears that the rule may hold true for killing someone while off duty as well. In far too many cases, including Dziekanski, Boyd, Bush, St. Arnaud and countless others the CJB has acted as judge and jury, deciding on which evidence would likely be preferred by a judge and invariably preferring the police version of events.  If the CJB found Cpl Robinson guilty and pronounced judgment without trial, there would be an uproar.  But refusing to try a police officer for manslaughter has not resulted in a commensurate public outcry.

BC’s motorcycle community is looking to change that.  You can join them in a rally at 12:00 noon on December 8th at the Surrey Provincial Courthouse. Everyone is encouraged to attend and motorcyclist are encouraged to wear their jackets.  Further details are below from a Facebook posting.

Also, check out the article in the Province and Gary Mason’s article in the Globe and Mail.

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Tags: RCMP
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RCMP Commissioner William Elliott will be seeking changes to the RCMP Act that will broaden disciplinary options and make it easier to dismiss officers for gross misconduct.  Elliott argues that without legislative change, disciplinary options in serious offenses are overly lenient and often take years to resolve.

The BCCLA has witnessed how long it can take for investigations to take place.  Most of the complaints the BCCLA makes are unresolved for years.  One of the main problems reported to the BCCLA about the police complaint process is that if officers are found at fault, disciplinary measures are inadequate.  If Commissioner Elliott can change the process so that discipline does occur when officers are found to have broken their code of conduct, this would be a huge improvement to the system.

Discipline aside, it’s important to note that in many of the most egregious cases, the RCMP has found no fault at all: Ian Bush, Kevin St. Arnaud, Clayton Willey, and Robert Dziekanski, and that in the history of British Columbia, not a single police officer has faced a criminal charge arising from a police-involved death. What good are better sanctions if you can’t see any problems in the first place?

Check out the story in the Vancouver Sun.

Tags: Creditable Conduct, Police complaints, RCMP
Posted in The Police Blog | | 3 Comments »

When elements of a death in police custody are caught on video, the RCMP consistently exploits the victim’s family in order to suppress the video. Releasing the video to the public, according to the RCMP, would upset the family. Below are a few examples where the family has had to fight the RCMP to have the video released.

After Robert Dziekanski died in the custody of the Richmond RCMP, the RCMP seized Paul Pritchard’s video. Cpl. Dale Carr publicly attacked Paul Pritchard’s motives to release the video to the public on the grounds that it would upset Mr. Dziekanski’s mother, Zofia Cisowski. Mr. Pritchard had to file a lawsuit to have his property returned. He released the video to the public with Ms. Cisowski’s permission.

A writer recently discovered the RCMP had video footage of Clayton Alvin Willey’s arrest in 2002. Mr. Willey died a few hours later. Despite a notarised release from the family, the RCMP refused to release footage citing privacy concerns. The RCMP backed down after the BCCLA and others demanded the family’s request to release the footage be honoured.

This week RCMP lawyer Ellen Roberts could not prevent the release of video footage of Robert Knipstrom’s arrest. Counsel for the coroner’s office argued for the release of the video on the grounds that the family was not opposed to its release. Once again, the only entity opposed to publication was the RCMP.

It is appaling that the RCMP resorts to such exploitation to avoid accountability. It is also appalling that the BCCLA needs to point this out to the RCMP. Yet, there is little that makes sense in a system where the agency responsible for the death of a person is also tasked to investigate its own culpability. The RCMP has recognised that they face a crisis of public confidence, yet one of the main arguments against the creation of an independent unit to investigate in-custody deaths is that only the police can investigate crimes. The RCMP ought to recognise that public confidence only comes when the RCMP show us they are doing a good job, not simply when they tell us they are doing a good job.

The public, like any good investigator, wants to view the evidence. Public servants should not need to be reminded who it is they serve.

Tags: Death In Custody, RCMP, Robert Dziekanski, Transparency
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A law like this is what the BCCLA has been working towards for years.  Now’s the time to contact your member of parliament to support Ian’s law, a private member’s bill put forward by MP Nathan Cullen.

Tags: RCMP, Transparency
Posted in The Police Blog | | 2 Comments »

First it was four shootings in eight days, now it’s five in twelve.  These five shootings, with three fatalities, involve BC police forces.  Four of the five shootings involved RCMP officers.  The RCMP in BC are responsible for more than half of the RCMP’s in-custody deaths, despite accounting for only one third of the RCMP’s forces in Canada.

A man was fatally shot yesterday after a reported 4-day standoff with police in Buick creek, near Fort St. John.

Eugene Knight was fatally shot by Vancouver Police on September 19th.

Bill Gillespie was shot in Chemainus after a traffic stop by North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP.

Surrey RCMP peppered a reportedly stolen car with bullets after the unknown male driver fled a parking lot in Langley, striking a civilian vehicle, a police cruiser and a plainclothes officer.

Rodney Jackson was fatally shot by Hazelton RCMP when officers attended his grandfather’s cabin to arrest him on outstanding warrants.

Beyond the brief information contained in the newspapers, little is known about these incidents.  The BCCLA, the RCMP and BC’s police chiefs are all in agreement that a civilian-led agency needs to investigate police shootings and deaths in custody, although the BCCLA argues that only a civilian-staffed agency can eliminate any perceptions of bias and restore public confidence in the police.

The issue is not whether any of these dead men were good or bad people or whether investigating police officers is somehow an affront to the dignity of their public service.  The issue is about ensuring that when the government uses lethal force against its citizens, a transparent and thorough investigation occurs to ensure that the use of lethal force was justified.

The BCCLA will be filing police complaints for each of the cases, currently the only way the circumstances of police shootings and deaths in custody can be known outside of police circles until a coroner’s inquest takes place, usually years later.

Check out the latest story in The Province.

Tags: BCCLA Police Complaints, Death In Custody, RCMP, Transparency, VPD
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The results of the 2009 RCMP Employee Survey are in, and the RCMP has little to boast about. While 92% of RCMP members indicated a strong commitment to making the RCMP successful, there were numerous indications that job satisfaction is much lower than commitment.  Especially shocking is that 19% of members indicated harassment had taken place within the last year, with 70% of harassers being colleagues and 42% being direct supervisors or superiors.

Much of the BCCLA’s work in achieving police accountability has been through policy change, so it is disheartening to see that less than half of members agree with the statement “RCMP policies provide clear direction on organizational procedures”.   As for accountability, only 36% (BC: 34%) of members felt that poor performance situations were dealt with effectively in their area, and only 37% (BC: 34%) of employee complaints were dealt with effectively.  Members expressed dismal levels of confidence in RCMP management, with only 25% (BC: 21%) of members agreeing that the RCMP prepares supervisors/managers well for their supervisory/managerial responsibilities, and 26% (BC: 22%) agreeing that the RCMP develops capable senior leaders with the right competencies to carry out executive responsibilities.

Only 24% (BC: 17%) of members believed that action will be taken based on the results of the survey.

Tags: RCMP
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The BC Coroner has scheduled an inquest for November 2009 to probe the in-custody death of Robert Knipstrom in November 2007. The inquest will occur two years after Chilliwack RCMP officers used batons, pepper spray and a Taser on Knipstrom.  The cause of Knipstrom’s death has never been released.  The BCCLA filed a police complaint shortly after Knipstrom’s death, which will not proceed due to a subsequent complaint initiated by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.

For deaths in custody, coroner’s inquests should be automatic, timely, and include funded legal counsel for the family. Conduct investigations also ought to be automatic, timely and released to the public whenever deadly force is used.

It is unfortunate that the BCCLA must initiate complaints in order to obtain information about in-custody deaths. It is unfortunate that the BCCLA seems to be the only organisation that does this in Canada. It is unfortunate that the quest for accountability is met with resistance, hindrance and delay. Robert Knipstrom’s family, his friends, and the public deserve better.

Tags: BCCLA Police Complaints, Death In Custody, RCMP, Taser
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After an investigation by the RCMP, Crown has opted to charge a Kelowna RCMP officer with the careless use of a firearm following an shooting incident in February.  This follows an investigation by the RCMP and a use of force expert. The RCMP has not, and will not, release any details, as they advise us the matter is before the Court now.  The name of the officer will not be released until the officer’s court appearance on August 27th.

The only detail we can be certain of is that the suspect is known to police.

Tags: RCMP, Transparency
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