Thursday, October 05, 2006
Mistakes plaguing RCMP
The Globe and Mail
October 5, 2006
Errors made in several high-profile cases raise questions about force's competence
ROD MICKLEBURGH
VANCOUVER -- The abrupt end to an RCMP disciplinary hearing into sexual allegations against a Prince George officer is not the first disconcerting event to hit the force in recent years.
The RCMP has made mistakes in a number of high-profile cases, prompting questions about the overall competence of the force in B.C.
Two years ago, for instance, errors by RCMP interrogators led to separate prosecution failures within days of each other, one in the murder case of Chinese student Amanda Zhao in Burnaby, the other in the killing of a native chief's son near Kamloops.
A few years earlier, the RCMP's own internal probe of its investigation into the sex strangling of young Mindy Tran in Kelowna concluded that police mistakes and personnel problems doomed the case against suspect Shannon Murrin from the beginning.
There are also ongoing issues such as RCMP investigations into the deaths of individuals at the hands of police or in police custody, most notably the fatal shooting last year of young Houston mill worker Ian Bush by a rookie constable.
The Mounties' E Division in B.C. is its largest in Canada, with 126 RCMP detachments across the province staffed by more than 5,000 police officers. Simon Fraser University criminologist Neil Boyd said the RCMP in this province should be cut some slack, despite the botching of some cases.
"There are some problems, but when you consider the large number of police officers in the province, I'm wary of saying the force . . . is full of rotten apples," Prof. Boyd said.
"Yes, in five or 10 pretty big cases, there have been mistakes, but considering the hundreds and hundreds of cases they are dealing with all the time, how much of a problem is that? The important thing is that they learn from their mistakes."
Just last year, the RCMP's national-security team ordered a dramatic public takedown of three natives in broad daylight on a busy Vancouver bridge. Police seized 14 rifles and a quantity of ammunition from their van. But it turned out the men had just legally purchased the weapons on behalf of an outdoor training program for native youth of the small Tsawataineuk band on Vancouver Island.
Although none of the arrested men was ever charged, police have held on to the rifles for the past 15 months.
Just this week, the band received a letter from the RCMP, pledging to pay the full amount for the seized weapons and ammunition.
Chief Eric Joseph is still miffed.
"There's been no apology from the RCMP," he said yesterday. "We would also like to have some of our legal costs reimbursed, so there's been no closure yet," he said.
"I still don't know what sparked such a high-risk takedown, and for a long time, everyone had a bad impression of us, that we were involved in terrorism or something. Their tactics got out of hand. The youth up here don't like the RCMP."
Other examples of RCMP blunders include:
Mistakenly identifying Dimitrios Pilarinos, who built the famous deck for then premier Glen Clark, as the chief operator of an illegal poker operation at the Lumbermen's Social Club, when he barely knew how to play cards.
Alleging, erroneously, that Joseph Ignace, the mentally retarded son of a key figure in the well-known Gustafsen Lake native standoff against police, fired a shot at RCMP officers. Later, the RCMP released details of Mr. Ignace's youth court record in an effort to link criminals to the standoff.
Bashing down a door and charging into a suspected grow-op within seconds of announcing their presence, prompting the presiding judge to throw out all charges against the operators, because they were not given proper time to answer the door.
A former RCMP constable in Merritt was awarded nearly a million dollars in damages this year, after she sued the force for long standing, on-the-job harassment. The decision is being appealed.
Last month, a federal court judge found RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli guilty of acting unreasonably in firing a B.C. constable.
The RCMP's public-complaints commission is currently investigating two deaths of suspects at the hands of police in the province. One is Mr. Bush; the other is Kevin St. Arnaud, who was fatally shot as he advanced, unarmed, on a young RCMP constable in Vanderhoof.
Prof. Boyd said the RCMP, like most other organizations, is taking on increasing numbers of young employees as baby boomers age and retire. "I don't doubt the police have some demographic challenges, and in that they are no different from any other sector of society," he said. "And overall, I think their training of recruits is pretty good."
© Copyright 2006 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
October 5, 2006
Errors made in several high-profile cases raise questions about force's competence
ROD MICKLEBURGH
VANCOUVER -- The abrupt end to an RCMP disciplinary hearing into sexual allegations against a Prince George officer is not the first disconcerting event to hit the force in recent years.
The RCMP has made mistakes in a number of high-profile cases, prompting questions about the overall competence of the force in B.C.
Two years ago, for instance, errors by RCMP interrogators led to separate prosecution failures within days of each other, one in the murder case of Chinese student Amanda Zhao in Burnaby, the other in the killing of a native chief's son near Kamloops.
A few years earlier, the RCMP's own internal probe of its investigation into the sex strangling of young Mindy Tran in Kelowna concluded that police mistakes and personnel problems doomed the case against suspect Shannon Murrin from the beginning.
There are also ongoing issues such as RCMP investigations into the deaths of individuals at the hands of police or in police custody, most notably the fatal shooting last year of young Houston mill worker Ian Bush by a rookie constable.
The Mounties' E Division in B.C. is its largest in Canada, with 126 RCMP detachments across the province staffed by more than 5,000 police officers. Simon Fraser University criminologist Neil Boyd said the RCMP in this province should be cut some slack, despite the botching of some cases.
"There are some problems, but when you consider the large number of police officers in the province, I'm wary of saying the force . . . is full of rotten apples," Prof. Boyd said.
"Yes, in five or 10 pretty big cases, there have been mistakes, but considering the hundreds and hundreds of cases they are dealing with all the time, how much of a problem is that? The important thing is that they learn from their mistakes."
Just last year, the RCMP's national-security team ordered a dramatic public takedown of three natives in broad daylight on a busy Vancouver bridge. Police seized 14 rifles and a quantity of ammunition from their van. But it turned out the men had just legally purchased the weapons on behalf of an outdoor training program for native youth of the small Tsawataineuk band on Vancouver Island.
Although none of the arrested men was ever charged, police have held on to the rifles for the past 15 months.
Just this week, the band received a letter from the RCMP, pledging to pay the full amount for the seized weapons and ammunition.
Chief Eric Joseph is still miffed.
"There's been no apology from the RCMP," he said yesterday. "We would also like to have some of our legal costs reimbursed, so there's been no closure yet," he said.
"I still don't know what sparked such a high-risk takedown, and for a long time, everyone had a bad impression of us, that we were involved in terrorism or something. Their tactics got out of hand. The youth up here don't like the RCMP."
Other examples of RCMP blunders include:
Mistakenly identifying Dimitrios Pilarinos, who built the famous deck for then premier Glen Clark, as the chief operator of an illegal poker operation at the Lumbermen's Social Club, when he barely knew how to play cards.
Alleging, erroneously, that Joseph Ignace, the mentally retarded son of a key figure in the well-known Gustafsen Lake native standoff against police, fired a shot at RCMP officers. Later, the RCMP released details of Mr. Ignace's youth court record in an effort to link criminals to the standoff.
Bashing down a door and charging into a suspected grow-op within seconds of announcing their presence, prompting the presiding judge to throw out all charges against the operators, because they were not given proper time to answer the door.
A former RCMP constable in Merritt was awarded nearly a million dollars in damages this year, after she sued the force for long standing, on-the-job harassment. The decision is being appealed.
Last month, a federal court judge found RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli guilty of acting unreasonably in firing a B.C. constable.
The RCMP's public-complaints commission is currently investigating two deaths of suspects at the hands of police in the province. One is Mr. Bush; the other is Kevin St. Arnaud, who was fatally shot as he advanced, unarmed, on a young RCMP constable in Vanderhoof.
Prof. Boyd said the RCMP, like most other organizations, is taking on increasing numbers of young employees as baby boomers age and retire. "I don't doubt the police have some demographic challenges, and in that they are no different from any other sector of society," he said. "And overall, I think their training of recruits is pretty good."
© Copyright 2006 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
# posted by mike @ 9:01 AM 
