The Province ran a two-page spread a few days later with the headline "Watchdog puts heat on police chief." The editorial, "‘Vancouver police chief must address RCMP concerns," included the observation that the "...VPD is ill-served by a police chief whose knee-jerk reaction in the face of criticism is to haul out the whitewash."

On June 2, Dirk Ryneveld, the BC police complaints commissioner, called for a thorough audit of the VPD and directed the Chief to reconsider the way he had handled complaints substantiated by the RCMP.

A few hours later Graham called his own press conference. News 1130 described Graham as "visibly defensive" noting that he "stormed out of the room" at the end of the press conference.

Later that day, evening news broadcasts covered complaints about not only the VPD misconduct allegations by Pivot, but many other alleged and proven abuses over the years.

Global TV had an in-depth report about Chief Graham himself, highlighting problems that have occurred since he was appointed in 2002. The CBC report described the scene at Graham's press conference as a "glossy" response to "“what some are calling quite damaging charges."

One of the most scathing commentaries on the treatment of the report was titled ‘Coleman needs to protect public, not cops', from Michael Smyth of The Province. He compiled a profile of then Solicitor General Rich Coleman, and came to a troubling conclusion: “Whenever BC's "top cop" [Coleman] is confronted with evidence of police misconduct, his first reaction is always the same: Protect the old boys' club."

Smyth expressed his opinion that Coleman was not willing to protect the broad public interest if it came at the expense of the police force. He called this behaviour "a familiar pattern for Coleman," backing it up with a series of past reactions to public concerns. Smyth described these in light of "Coleman's move-along, nothing-to-see-here attitude toward alleged police misconduct."

This list included:

• The death of Frank Paul. The 47-year-old aboriginal man died of exposure after the VPD dumped him drunk and soaking wet in an alley. Coleman resisted repeated and widespread calls for an inquiry into Paul's death, saying it would result in "public acrimony" toward the police.

• Six cops convicted of assault. After six VPD officers pleaded guilty to assault in 2003, Coleman rejected all calls for an inquiry. "It would be an exercise in name-calling," he said.

• The missing-women file. Coleman wasn’t moved when relatives of dozens of women missing from Vancouver's DTES accused police of bungling the case. "I don’t think there's any necessity at this point for a public inquiry," he said.

• When a VPD officer fell under suspicion of lying in court and stealing evidence in 2003, Coleman rejected calls for an inquiry. "I'm pretty confident in the Vancouver police force," he said.

Since Smyth's article ran, Coleman has finished his term as solicitor general, but not before appointing retired judge Benjamin Cassons to head an audit into police departments across the province.

Cassons was the former police complaint commissioner before Reyneveld, and held the office when Pivot released its original To Serve and Protect report. At the time Cassons refused to meet with Pivot to discuss an external investigation into the 56 affidavits; however, his pro-police approach was rejected by Commissioner Ryneveld when Ryneveld took office.

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This article was originally printed in the Summer 2005 issue of The Pivot Post.
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