Police Investigating Police : One Man's Opinion
By Ben Meisner
There is a very compelling argument to be made as to how police shootings are dealt with in this province.
Vancouver lawyer Cameron Ward, who has been called an activist in the matter, makes a very legitimate point. Ward says if police are involved in the shooting and police then gather the facts to present to the Crown as to whether charges will be laid, and also gather evidence as to whether a fellow member should be charged in connection with a shooting death, and gather evidence to be presented to a Coroners inquest, how then can society expect to get a fair hearing?
It is a very valid point and while there may be some very good police officers who are trying to only get to the matter of the truth, perception is reality.
There is little if any opportunity for the community at large to have its say in what it believes were the events centering on a shooting death.
If the police of Canada want justice to be served in an open and transparent manner, a matter of which they are sworn to uphold, then it is the police themselves who should call for the changes.
The recent inquest into the shooting death of Kevin St. Arnaud and the upcoming Coroner's Inquest into the death of Ian Bush, point to a problem where many questions remain.
While the investigation can be called above board, there is always the risk or perception, that Police will treat their own differently.
In the case of Bush and St. Arnaud they are not around to give their side of the story.
I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.
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Posted by: heidi1555 on January 31 2007 3:52 PM
Imagine if all of us could be tried 'by a jury of our peers' in the sense that if say a farmer committed a crime, such as shooting an intruder, in self defense of course, a group of farmers would convene and decide if their colleague should be punished. Or how about a drug pusher who is attacked by a druggie, shoots and kills in order to save his/her own life, how would it look if a group of (low life scum) pushers got to decide the fate of their fellow?
These hypothetical situations cannot of course be directly compared to the matter at hand, that of a policeman sworn to uphold the law of the land, but it makes you think, eh? Perhaps there is a little too much leeway in the 'justice system' when it comes to police investigating police, in the case of the killing of an UNARMED citizen.
metalman.