Independent Investigation Needed in Houston Man's Death

Thursday, November 03, 2005 10:30 AM

While a good many countries, including New Zealand and Australia have a system where incidents involving police officers and the public are investigated by an agent of the government not connected with the police force, Canada does not have such a system.

No one would suggest the RCMP would try and twist the facts in the death of Ian Bush of Houston, but perception is reality. To be absolutely sure that even the slightest hint of such a negative perception does not exist, there needs to be an independent examination of the facts surrounding the death of this young man while in police custody.

Being shot in the head as the cause of death adds a whole dimension to this matter. While the RCMP Major Crime unit is looking into the death, there will be fears by not only the family, but the general public at large, that bias could creep in.

In both New Zealand and Australia, they were so committed to independent reviews being undertaken in matters such as this, that the crime laboratory also falls under the jurisdiction of the independent examiner.

These facts are known, Ian Bush was standing outside of the Houston arena having a beer with some friends. When approached by police, he gave his friends name and was arrested by one of the officers for obstruction of justice. As to the joke he was playing, it should be noted that one of the officers at the scene had attended a wedding of Bush’s sister a few months ago and knew exactly who Bush was.

What is not known is what took place there after, apart from the fact that 22 year old Bush was shot in the head. There evidently was no monitor working in the police station or it was not turned on.

The comments by police that Bush was “known to them”, have only infuriated members of the community where this young man lived. Of course he was “known”. It would be surprising if someone is not known in that town, which is born out by the fact that one of the officers who attended the scene knew Bush, coupled with the fact that Bush had worked for several years at the town’s largest employer, Canfor.

Choice of words, or a spin?

Those are the kind of things that are taken away when there is an independent review of what took place.

I’m Meisner and that is one man’s opinion .

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Posted on Thursday, November 03, 2005 10:30 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: Don Mackenzie on November 3 2005 1:26 PM

Or could it be he was a bad quy, a mean a nasty drunk, that is why he was KNOWN to the RCMP. How many people get shot for no reason when they are been RELEASED??We are only hearing from FRIENDS and FAMILY.!!!!! "Lets wait"

Posted by: fedup on November 3 2005 2:05 PM

My regards to the family and I hope they get justice.

Posted by: Jer24kamloops on November 3 2005 6:22 PM

In regards to Don Mackenzie's comments:
Have you ever lived in Houston?
I grew up in Houston and spent 18 years there. In my opinion, the majority of officers in and out of that town through the years were power hungy fools. I am saddened to hear about young Ian Bush who i knew when i lived there, but it doesn't surprise me that something like this would happen amongst the detachmnet. I recall an incident about six years ago when another young houston man had a gun drawn on him and was nearly shot in the head. Why are these officers firing their guns on UNARMNED citizens? And besides, you would think after a traumatic experience like this, some people would show a little compasion for the family and the incident!!

Posted by: Chester on November 3 2005 10:15 PM

How tragic. Something as simple as an open beer between periods at a hockey game and you end up shot in the head for it. How can this happen?

Where did things go wrong? There seems to be a very fine line between where a person can fool around with someone with a gun and not risk dire consequences.

The laws we are expected to live within and the people who are expected to enforce them, must be taken seriously.

It's not a game. Everyone is expected to act responsibility and be accountable for their actions. Getting shot is not what we would expect as appropriate, responsible behavior in this situation.

I am so sorry for everyone involved. My prayers go out to the families involved in this terrible situation. Chester

Posted by: owl on November 4 2005 12:42 AM

was known as what? ... a trouble maker, a drunk, a drug trafficer, an illegal firearms dealer .....

none of those would justify shooting to kill within a police station ... unless it was obvious that the officer's life was in imminent danger .....

Posted by: Marty on November 4 2005 8:22 AM

Nothing like shooting an un-armed person... tough guy cops need to be slapped with some jail time i think.

My condolences to family and friends for your huge loss !

Posted by: SpeakingOut on November 4 2005 9:40 AM

I am sympathetic to our police force, they do have a tough job to do. However, I am not so naive as to be blind to the fact that in every career we have the good and the bad, and unfortunately, we also have the ugly too. There are people on our police forces who are just bullies with badges.

To shoot a person in the head while in custody - that is unbelievable. It is unacceptable. It is outrageous and incomprehensible. Even if that young man had somehow wrestled a loaded gun away from an officer and was about to shoot it at someone, how would that wrestling match have come about and gotten out of hand to that extent? Somebody was clearly not doing their job, somebody was clearly not following protocol. I am in no way suggesting this is what happened, it is just the only plausible excuse that could come anywhere near even remotely being almost reasonably acceptable...as if.

Posted by: Opatcho on November 4 2005 10:22 AM

We are suckers for punishment. Police investigate police, doctors investigate doctors, lawyers invastigat lawyers. When will we wake up and smell the coffee. It dosent much matter what the facts are this is a tragic event and needs more then a police investigation. I cant imagine a young man that was gainfully employed should be treated so shabbily.

Posted by: fedup on November 4 2005 2:26 PM

I didn't know Ian but he sounds like a normal young working man out to play some hockey with friends not out to cause trouble. drinking a beer come on now. So what happenend at the police station to make this situation turn ugly? The cop must have done something to inrage the situation aren't they trained to deal with unarmed people? you know if anyone of us had shot someone we would still be in jail.

Posted by: FOIRM on November 7 2005 4:22 PM

I am not to sure what happened back in the detachment in Houston between the RCMP officer and Ian but I know that there could of been many options used in this situation... to make this situation non existent. During the training in Regina police are trained to use pepper spray, take down someone and I am pretty sure that they are taught many other options to take down someone it they are being attacked. Ian was well know to the community so the police should know him too. Houston is a small town and everyone knows everyone. I know it is important to keep facts quiet in an investigation but this only starts rumours and gets people thinking of their own stories and how the situation may have occurred. If you attended Ian's funeral on Sat. you would of known that he was a great guy and had many friends the place was packed. The police could of shot him in the leg or foot to make him drop instead they shot him in the head. To me that is a harsh punishment for drinking in public. This is just my opinion and I know there are people who disagree with me but my concern is for the kids and the citizens in Houston. There are too many kids killed from one source or another in Houston. This incident is a tragic loss. It must be hard for his family who know just as much as the rest of us.

I lived in Houston and I knew Ian. He was a good guy. My heart goes out to his family.