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Date: Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:10:27 -0600
From: News@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca
Subject: Column: Cops have last word in case of he said, she's dead- Van
Cops have last word in case of he said, she's dead
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=e5bb951d-2c76-4e36-a87b-029aa5384e30
Should we have to trust Mounties to probe themselves?
Joey Thompson, The Province
Published: Friday, January 04, 2008
Another young family's lives have been irreparably ripped to shreds by an
inexplicable tragedy involving an unidentified B.C. Mountie working solo.
Again, grief-stricken relatives and a saddened public have no choice but
to
swallow the version of events fed them by workmates of the very officer
involved in the horrific crash that left two boys without their mom,
Emmanuella Cauchon, 33.
I don't care that Richmond RCMP investigators claim the unnamed member's
conduct was squeaky-clean, that the right-of-way was his when he entered
the
junction at Cambie Street and No. 6 Road in Richmond, that they heard the
pregnant mom had been speeding earlier and that in the interest of
transparency and accountability they plan to parade the mangled metal in
front of cameras today.
I don't care because I can't rely on what they say. Members of the
once-revered 134-year-old force have shown their word can't be trusted,
that
their view of events involving themselves frequently bears little
resemblance to reality.
I don't need to go beyond the truth-stretching undertaken by Richmond
officers to cover butts following the tragic, needless death of a Polish
arrivee who died after Richmond Mounties Tasered him at the air****t, but I
will:
- - RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli had to resign last year after a
memory lapse and credibility collapse surrounding key elements of the
Maher
Arar calamity.
- - Senior officers covered up the mishandling and fudging of RCMP pension
and
insurance funds, according to members who testified at a recent government
inquiry.
- - Troubling questions persist regarding the execution-style shooting of
a
young man in custody in a Houston RCMP interrogation room.
- - RCMP lied about the extent of a search of an Air India flight's cargo
hold
and passenger cabin prior to the 1985 bombing that killed 329, according
to
a public inquiry.
- - The public has yet to learn the truth behind the allegations of lies
and
misconduct by then Kelowna RCMP investigating the still unresolved murder
of
little Mindy Tran.
If Richmond RCMP were truly wedded to accountability, as they claim, they
would have stood back and called for a non-police probe of Sunday's deadly
car crash.
The fact the top-heavy, 25,000-member force is not able to investigate
itself impartially was highlighted recently by a federal task force,
which,
among many other sound improvements, recommended terminating the
conflict-of-interest practice and replacing it with a non-police,
independent commission for complaints. It's something the public and media
have wanted for years, but hearing it from an external source was hugely
gratifying.
At least it was until Sunday, when we learned of yet another mishap
involving a Mountie who survived, a civilian who died and a one-sided
re****t
upon which we can't rely.
I'm not saying the RCMP's interim findings that point a finger at Cauchon
are a pack of lies, although I can't recall the last time they found any
wrongdoing by their own.
I am saying that only an arms-length, impartial probe will begin to
restore
the public's confidence and help ease the suffering of an eight-year-old
and
his little brother.
jthompson@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2008
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