|
|
|
| NEWS > 08 March 2007 |
Other related articles:
Yemen Reports on Human Rights
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
US State Department
March 8, 2006
Yemen is a republic under the leadership of President Ali Abdullah Saleh since 1978, and has a population of approximately 21 million. The law provides that the president be elected by popular vote from among at least two candidates endorsed by parliament. A 2001 referendum extended the president's term from five to seven years allowing President Saleh, who has been president of the unified Republic of Yemen since 1990, to remain in office, subject to reelection in 2006, until 2013. ... Read more
|
 Article sourced from
|
|
Vancouver Westender - Vancouve
08 March 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
|
Vancouver Police
|
Policing the Police
Just two weeks after Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham announced that he would step down when his contract expires in August, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) will launch an external investigation into Graham’s handling of over 50 complaints of police misconduct.
This week, the OPCC will announce it is ordering an investigation into a “non-cooperation complaint” submitted in February 2006 by the Pivot Legal Society, which alleges that Graham refused to cooperate with a RCMP investigation into allegations of police abuse, suppressed and withheld evidence, and made false and misleading statements. The RCMP investigation was ordered in 2003 by Police Complaint Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld after Pivot, a legal advocacy organization, collected 56 affidavits from residents in the Downtown Eastside, many of which accused police officers of assault. The OPCC investigation will also examine the conduct of some members of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) that Pivot alleges were uncooperative during the RCMP investigation.
“[The OPCC is in] the final stages of confirming that we’re going to have an external police agency review some of these complaints,” says Bruce Brown, Deputy Police Complaint Commissioner, “but I can’t tell you which department that is because we’re still trying to work out the details of what that’s going to mean with the number of officers and the amount of time that’s going to involve.”
The Police Act stipulates that a chief of police can only be investigated by someone of equal or higher authority; therefore, Brown says the OPCC is arranging to have a police chief from another force conduct the investigation. Under the Act, Graham has the authority to conduct the investigation into the allegations against Vancouver police officers, but Brown notes that because of the sensitivity of the complaint and the fact that it includes the chief, Graham may transfer that authority to another police department.
Although Pivot’s complaint was made over a year ago, Brown says the delay in launching an investigation was because there had been attempts between the VPD, Mayor Sam Sullivan (who is chair of the police board) and Pivot to resolve the matter informally. Only recently had it become apparent that an informal resolution was not going to work. Both the RCMP and the OPCC identified numerous problems with the VPD’s handling of the original Pivot complaint, but the fact that the VPD initiated a number of policy changes over the past two years, and that the province’s Solicitor General launched an investigation into the police-complaint process, which was just completed last month, also played a part in the complaint commissioner delaying an investigation. “Without question, it’s a long time, but it’s a fairly unique set of circumstances,” says Brown.
WE obtained a copy of Pivot’s 57-page non-cooperation complaint, which gives a detailed list of allegations against Graham, Vancouver police internal investigators, Vancouver Police Union agents and police officers, accusing them of violating the Police Act, the Code of Professional Conduct, and the Criminal Code of Canada. The complaint claims that Graham knew he had the authority to order his officers to cooperate with the RCMP investigation, yet although he knew that non-cooperation was a problem, he refused to exercise his authority and order cooperation.
When the RCMP concluded its investigation into the Pivot affidavits, it complained that Graham did not cooperate when it asked him to make two Vancouver police officers available for interviews. In his own report, Ryneved noted that “Graham’s warning of possible ‘lack of cooperation’ by some of his members toward the RCMP investigation proved in hindsight to be a prophetic statement which, viewed today, may by some be interpreted as a declaration of lack of cooperation by his department as a whole.”
The RCMP found that 11 complaints were substantiated, but Pivot notes that for at least 17 of the complaints that the RCMP found to be unsubstantiated, police interviews, duty reports and notebook entries were missing. The RCMP noted in its investigation that some “officers failed to substantively and meaningfully fulfill their legislated duty to account during this public trust investigation. These defaults contravene provincial legislation, a municipal officer’s oath, the department’s personnel code of ethics and a public expectation of accountability in matters of public trust.” Pivot alleges that the refusal to participate affected the outcome of the complaints.
After the RCMP completed its investigation in 2004, it was sent to Graham. But Graham felt the investigation was “flawed and politically manipulated” and, without telling the police board, ordered his own investigation into the complaints, which found that none of them were substantiated. Graham’s reinvestigation was harshly rebuked by Ryneveld, who told Graham to reconsider five of the complaints. Graham relented, and subsequently found two of the complaints to be substantiated. In one case, he ordered two officers to be given “management advice,” and in the second case decided not to impose any discipline because the accused officer had an unblemished record. Pivot alleges that Graham had no legal authority to order a reinvestigation, and that it was a direct challenge to the OPCC and the RCMP’s investigation. Pivot executive director John Richardson declined to comment for this story.
The Pivot complaints have been a constant source of frustration and embarrassment for Graham, who called the claims “preposterous,” although he later admitted he hadn’t fully read Pivot’s report.
Over the past four years, Graham has been involved in a public-relations battle with Pivot; in the past, he has claimed that the affidavits were vague, politically motivated, and collected in a compromised manner. WE could not reach Graham for comment, but Inspector Rollie Woods, head of the VPD’s internal investigations (which is also named in Pivot’s complaint for interfering in the RCMP’s investigation) says there is no basis to Pivot’s claims.
“In the review that I conducted, I did not find any evidence of [misconduct] at all,” says Woods. “If I would have — [because] they are serious allegations — I certainly would have taken steps. I would have reported to the chief and I would have ordered an investigation into those allegations, or I would have followed up on any evidence I found. But I didn’t find any evidence at all. None.”
Woods says Pivot’s non-cooperation complaint had no bearing on Graham’s decision to retire. Graham is already under investigation by the RCMP for a complaint made by a senior police officer who claims Graham benefited from donations made during a 2004 Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Vancouver. The allegation claims the VPD issued improper tax receipts to conference sponsor Harmony Airways, and that Graham and deputy chiefs stayed in hotel rooms for free, which were paid for by David Ho, Harmony’s owner.
When Graham announced at a press conference that he would step down when his contract expires, he was asked by reporters whether the investigation had any impact on his decision. Graham responded: “I think at any one time there is a number of internal matters being reviewed. This decision for me to leave has no reflection or rationale; it is simply time for me to move on.”
However, if either investigation is not completed before Graham’s contract expires, he will not be subject to any disciplinary action.
Graham has been under scrutiny a number of times during his five-year term as chief of police. Last summer, he was investigated by the OPCC after leaving a bullet-riddled shooting target on the desk of the city manager. Shortly after Graham said he was stepping down, the Solicitor General announced there would be a full public inquiry into the death of Frank Paul, an intoxicated native man who died of exposure eight years ago after being dumped in an alley by a police van. Native groups have claimed the police did not conduct a thorough investigation into Paul’s death, although Graham said he felt justice had been done.
While he enjoys strong support from his officers, Graham has been heavily criticized for publicly defending officers before an investigation against them is finished.
The Pivot complaint also claims that agents with the Vancouver Police Union encouraged police officers not to cooperate with the RCMP investigation by advising them not to give the videotaped interviews requested of them, and only participate if they felt the complaint “had merit.” Union president Tom Stamatakis denies he told officers not to cooperate, but admits he told them not to give videotaped interviews since it infringed upon their rights.
“If somebody wants to criticize me for making sure the members that I represent got appropriate advice before proceeding in what was arguably a misuse of the police complaints process, then they can fill their boots — I really don’t care,” says Stamatakis. “I was doing only what I’m sure Pivot would do if somebody made some allegation about a person that they were representing.”
Once the investigation against Graham is complete, it will be forwarded to Mayor Sullivan, who has the authority to discipline the chief. There is a high degree of speculation that the two are at odds and that their acrimonious relationship is part of the reason Graham decided to step down. During the 2005 municipal elections, Graham asked the RCMP to investigate Sullivan for giving drug addicts money to buy drugs. In return, Sullivan asked the OPCC to investigate Graham for leaving the shooting target on the city manager’s desk. Most recently, Sullivan and the ruling Non-Partisan Association turned down the chief’s request to hire 65 new officers. Only 17 will be hired.
In a statement released through the police board, Sullivan turned down WE’s request for an interview while the investigation is being completed. “The Chair [Sullivan] has indicated that it would not be appropriate to discuss the investigation of the complaint, or any matters pertaining to the complaint, while the investigation is in progress,” the statement said.
Graham continues to refuse to release the RCMP’s report to the public.
|
| |
 EiP Comments:
|
|---|
|
| |
* We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper or periodical. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and we will remove the article. The articles republished on this site are provided for the purposes of research , private study, criticism , review, and the reporting of current events' We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper , periodical or other works. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and where necessary we will remove the work concerned.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
Ethics in Policing, based in the UK, provide information and advice about the following:
Policing Research | Police News articles | Police Corruption | International Policing | Police Web Sites | Police Forum | Policing Ethics | Police Journals | Police Publications |
|
| |
|
