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
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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
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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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Paul Kennedy, chair of the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP, has concluded an investigation of the police complaint process and recommended that the RCMP cease its practice of self-investigation when RCMP officers cause serious injury or death. Kennedy, however, did not recommend completely independent investigations. In cases of death, Kennedy recommends that the investigation be done by a provincial criminal investigation unit or an external police service. In other cases, Kennedy recommended enhanced civilian involvement by including in he investigation team a civilian observer from the CPC. The CPC implemented the observer program in British Columbia in 2008 after it began as a pilot project in 2007.

It is unfortunate that Kennedy’s solution to the problem of the police investigating the police is to solve it with different police investigating the police. Ontario and Manitoba, along with numerous jurisdictions outside of Canada, have opted to create an independent civilian agency, or Special Investigation Unit, to investigate instances of serious injury and death caused by the police. In instances of serious injury, rather than have a special police unit conduct investigations overseen by an observer program, it would be simply better to refer such investigations to the same special investigation unit that investigates police-involved deaths. Kennedy recommends multiple solutions where one would suffice.

Kennedy’s recommendations go against his very argument. He states that “the very nature of an investigation by one police officer into another is fundamentally different from the police investigating a member of the public for the exact same crime. Police are held to higher account by the very nature of the work they do.” Rather than advocating for an independent special investigation unit, he speaks of investigations by external police forces and observers. However, an investigation by an external police force is still self-investigation, police investigating police. An observer program relies entirely on the information provided by the RCMP, and by its own admission, “it is not the goal of the CPC Independent Observer to assess the adequacy of the RCMP’s investigation“.

The idea of a special investigation unit is often attacked by those who claim that only the police have the skills and wherewithal to conduct an investigation. The idea that there is some divine right of investigation is absurd: many professions besides policing require knowledge of the legal system and investigative skills. In addition, Kennedy’s report is hardly reassuring to those who suggest Police would do a better job of these investigations than civilians.

Though not ideal, what Kennedy proposes is still better than what currently exists. In his report, Kennedy analyses 28 cases of self-investigation and paints a clear picture of the numerous problems that exist within the model of self-investigation.

For instance, he notes that in 68% of the cases under review, investigations were handled in an “inappropriate” manner. He also finds that in 25% of cases, investigators said they knew the officer they were investigating personally. And almost one-third of investigations were carried out by officers of an equal or lesser rank than the officer they were investigating, which created significant potential for intimidation.

In response to the recommendations in the report, RCMP Commissioner William Elliott has stated that “we [the RCMP] agree in principle with your assertion that although all Canadians, including RCMP members, are entitled under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to be treated equally under the law, criminal investigations of RCMP members may necessitate different treatment from a procedural point of view.” Commissioner Elliott has promised that forthcoming policy changes will address many of the concerns raised by Kennedy’s report.

Check out the final public report by the CPC.

Tags: RCMP, Transparency
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Thomas Braidwood has released his report on the public inquiry probing the police use of tasers. Braidwood concluded that tasers are useful and beneficial, but can cause death and serious injury. This finding prompted his recommendation that the police should deploy a taser only when someone is causing bodily harm or there is reasonable belief that someone will imminently cause bodily harm. Braidwood’s 19 recommendations are reproduced below.

Immediately following the release of the report, BC Solicitor General Kash Heed praised the report as “perhaps the most comprehensive examination of (tasers) anywhere in the world” and ordered all police, sheriffs and corrections officers in BC to incorporate Braidwood’s recommendations into policy and “severely restrict the use of the stun guns.” In contrast, the RCMP released a statement that effectively said the RCMP will not comply with Braidwood’s recommendations, supposedly until they have had full opportunity to review the report. This recalcitrance prompted a sharp rebuke, with Mr. Heed stating that compliance is required from all police in BC, which includes the RCMP, and that compliance was a precondition for the renewal of the RCMP’s contract in BC which ends in 2012.

Kash Heed deserves credit for asserting his authority and ensuring that the RCMP is held accountable to our provincial government and the citizens it serves. His position is unequivocal and uncompromising, stating “I am quite confident those organizations will follow the directive that was received today. I expect it to be followed.” RCMP officers are now forced to choose between following the directive issued by Heed, or flaunting the findings and recommendations of an independent provincial inquiry. Let us hope that a wave of cautious pragmatism moves through the ranks that Creditable Conduleads to compliance.

Braidwood is critical of the provincial government for “abdicating” its responsibility to establish taser standards to ensure the weapon was safe for use and used safely. While the province’s responsiveness today is praiseworthy, we must not forget that it was preceded by years of inaction and avoidance.

Tags: Braidwood Inquiry, Creditable Conduct, RCMP, Taser
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