Shooting Of Ian Bush ..Another Version

By Ben Meisner

     Last week we received another finding, this one from the RCMP Public Complaints Commission , giving their take on the death of Ian Bush in Houston.

In his report, the Chair of the Commission raises a couple of issues that never ever did get addressed,

1.  1.  why the senior NCO Staff Sergeant Rod Holland, failed to take notes on his arrival at the RCMP office where Constable Koester was, and
2. 2.   how come Constable Darren Woroshelo, Koester’s trainer, spent 4 or 5 minutes with Koester behind closed doors when there were 4 other police officers, including senior members, also in the office.

Now one of the other findings by the Commissioner deals with that Beer bottle found alongside a small table in the office where Bush’s body was found. Missed it in the personal  search says the findings , well I’d buy that excepy  that Koester, during the time that he had  Bush handcuffed ,did a search of him which according to other testimony at the Coroner’s inquest  said the search was very thorough.  He did find Bush’s wallet, but not a full long neck bottle of beer . That’s a tough one to swallow given the fact that the fingerprints on the bottle were pointing downwards from the neck. 

So what did we get? Well another view of what the Commissioner thinks happened.

So  today it’s my turn to offer up what I think happened.

The difference between the RCMP Public Complaints Commissioner and me,  is that I attended the entire inquest.

It is my belief , and my belief only , that events up until the time that Ian Bush arrived at the police station went exactly as stated at the inquest.

Now there was some effort to say that Ian Bush liked to fight as the testimony went.  Keep in mind, give me a 20 year old , fit young guy,  and it is my belief that 90% of them like to fight, play fight or what have you. Very little was ever made of the fact that Koester liked the Martial Arts, that always has signified to me that he to liked top fight.  So that was a red herring.

I believe that everything went as suggested until Darren Woroshelo went in to talk to Bush. Now I think that he told Bush that he was facing a criminal charge for obstruction, and if found guilty wouldn’t be able to leave the country. I also raise the question, did he tell Bush that "we got you"? (Referring to the time when Bush was suspected of eluding an illegal possession charge at the 7-11 store by simply going out the back door and going home, avoiding Woroshelo.)   I can only base my opinion of Constable Woroshelo on hearing his testimony at the Corner’s inquest. He reminds me of a guy who has watched too many Die Hard movies. He had been an auxiliary for five years before becoming a full fledged RCMP member and riding around with the old officers; he no doubt got some very good schooling.

In his testimony Woroshelo says, the criminal charge of obstruction was perfectly appropriate. Given that comment what did he say to Bush?

Koester after all had asked Woroshelo to talk to Bush, "because he had dealt with him before ".  In what manner,  a speeding ticket?  But then there was that time where Bush "got away with that illegal possession", was that reason to slap him with an obstruction charge?

But now to the crunch.

Ian is being released. He is not a happy camper, he is being criminally charged and as he leaves the interview room, Koester  maybe gives him a push and says , see you in court. Bush pushes back, Koester kicks Bush in the testicles. Bush goes down and when he stands up he is mad, someone has just kicked him in the crotch. By the way little attention was paid to that bruise on Bush’s body.

And we all know that if you get a kick in the can, you’ll go down big time. So the fight is on.

Bush lands a few good ones and in the struggle he goes down on the sofa below, not on top as Constable Koester’s testimony goes.

Koester is mad as hell, he has been hit in the side of the face by this young punk and he is going to teach him a lesson. He grabs his gun, not his baton because it won’t work in the position he is in, not the pepper spray because he might get it on himself. No he grabs his gun and begins beating Ian Bush on the back of the head, three hits and then because he is angry, he is not paying attention,  he accidentally pulls the trigger and boom the gun goes off.

Did he mean to pull the trigger? 

I don’t think so and that is why he is an emotional wreck when he calls for help. He is worried about his job and he has just accidentally shot a guy to death. I say accidentally just shot a guy in the back of the head.

He doesn’t have any blood on him in spite of the fact that there is blood streaming from Bush’s head and Koester says he was under Bush during the shooting.  Want to re-enact the incident,?  It is nearly impossible to get your arm around to not only hit someone on the back of the head much less shoot him.

Why didn’t Koester get blood on him, well what if he was on top through the whole shooting? Now surprise, surprise, Joe Slemko, the blood spatter expert and the one guy who had no axe to grind says that Koester was on top during the fight not the bottom as the testimony goes.

As for Robo Cop Woroshelo talking to Koester instead of other senior officers first, you’ll have to ask him what he said, and oh yah that bottle of beer with only Ian Bush’s prints on it, just coincidence...

Remember this is only my interpretation of how the events unfolded, and the Police in their investigation say my thoughts are completely wrong.

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

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