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2005 - March 31: Jamie Graham
announces results of internal re-investigation The
results of the investigations are announced by VPD Chief
Jamie Graham: The VPD it has reinvestigated the RCMP
investigation and found that none of the cases were
substantiated.
2005 - June 2: Audit of VPD called
for Dirk Ryneveld, the B.C. Police Complaints
Commisisoner, calls for a thorough audit of the VPD
and directed Chief Jamie Graham to reconsider the way
he handled the complaints substantiated by the RCMP.
July 2005: Audit of all B.C. police
announced Solicitor General Rich Coleman appoints
former police complaints commissioner to audit all B.C
police departments. The appointment of retired judge Benjiman
Cassons (who had originally refused to meet with Pivot
in 2002) did not last long, and he was replaced former
B.C. judge Joe Wood.
2005 - November 23: Pivot takes
abuse claims back to court Pivot is asking
the Court to overturn Jamie Graham's re-investigation,
and also to overturn two of the Police Complaint Commissioner's
decisions: first, to send complaints back to Jamie Graham
to reconsider, and second, to reply on Graham's reinvestigation
in his final determination of the complaints.
2006 – February 17: Pivot lays formal complaint against Police Chief. Pivot
today filed a formal complaint with Mayor Sam Sullivan,
documenting obstruction and suppression of evidence
by Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham and other non-cooperative
officers in the face of the RCMP investigation.
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2007 - February 7: Release of former Judge Josiah Wood, Q.C.’s audit of 294 police complaints in the province. Pivot Legal Society and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) immediatelly called for the legislature to introduce civilian investigation of police misconduct in B.C. as soon as possible. [read press release from that day]
The audit found that:
- 1 in 3 investigations of allegations of excessive use of force by police had major errors and omissions that may have led to incorrect results, and 0 of 94 complaints of excessive use of force were substantiated by police investigators
- there have been systemic attempts to undermine the complaints process, including police failure to forward 46 files to Crown Counsel for criminal prosecution despite the circumstances warranting prosecutorial involvement
- the tendency for problems to exist in investigations is more prevalent in more serious complaints.
“The audit confirms what we’ve been saying for years; people trust the complaints system until they’ve experienced it,” says David Eby, a lawyer with the Pivot Legal Society. “Citizens expect a higher standard of investigation for more serious complaints; it is clear from this audit that the police investigations of police are unreliable for serious complaints. There is clearly rot in the accountability system for B.C.’s municipal forces.”
 [
download the
report [PDF 913 KB ] The report is now out of print.
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