Pubdate: Thu, 29 Jan 2004
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Page: A6
Copyright: 2004, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Jane Armstrong

VANCOUVER POLICE CHIEF RECOMMENDS FIRINGS

VANCOUVER -- Calling the actions of his officers "inexcusable," Vancouver 
Police Chief Jamie Graham says two constables should be fired for beating 
up three suspected drug dealers in Stanley Park last January.

The officers -- Constables Duncan Gemmell, 40, and Gabriel Kojima, 25 -- 
are two of the so-called Stanley Park Six who pleaded guilty last month to 
assaulting three men in a parking lot in the outer reaches of the downtown 
park. A provincial judge said the attack was premeditated and the officers 
all succumbed to a "mob mentality."

The judge discharged two men, suspended sentences for another two and 
ordered house arrest for Constables Gemmell and Kojima.

Yesterday, Chief Graham had harsh words for all six, calling their actions 
deplorable.

In a strongly worded statement that was broadcast throughout police 
headquarters, then posted on the Internet, he also apologized to city 
residents if "a few of my officers have in any way shaken their faith in 
the Vancouver Police."

It's rare for the head of a police force to recommend that a member be 
dismissed for an assault committed on the job, but Chief Graham said he 
wanted to send a message that "there can be no justification for this type 
of conduct."

His recommendations were forwarded to B.C.'s Office of the Police Complaint 
Commissioner, which can accept them or call a public inquiry. The officers 
can ask the commissioner to call an inquiry.

Deputy Police Chief Bob Rich told reporters he couldn't recall an instance 
when a complaint commissioner rejected a police chief's penalty recommendation.

The chief's comments were a far cry from the initial police response. Last 
fall, when the officers pleaded guilty to the assaults, police argued that 
a criminal record need not necessarily lead to dismissal.

But yesterday, Chief Graham said the two officers singled out by the court 
had to go.

Constable Gemmell, he said, initiated the attack and falsified a report to 
cover up the illegal beating.

"His actions were deliberate and wrong," Chief Graham said. "His conduct 
goes right to the core of judgment, truthfulness and integrity. Any 
sanction short of dismissal would bring the administration of police 
discipline into disrepute."

During sentencing last fall, the court heard that the three beating victims 
had nearly 100 convictions among them. Police arrested them that night on 
suspicion of dealing drugs. But instead of taking them to the stationhouse, 
the officers drove them to Stanley Park, roughed them up, and let them loose.

The attack came to light when a young recruit who was with the officers 
told his superiors.

Chief Graham also urged the firing of Constable Kojima, 25, the youngest 
officer involved and the only one to wield a weapon in the attack. The 
chief said this escalated the violence and degraded the complainants.

As for the other officers, he urged that Constables Chris Cronmiller, 
Raymond Gardner, Brandon Steele and James Kenney be suspended 20 days 
without pay and work for a year under an experienced officer who makes 
quarterly reports on their conduct.

The chief also suggested that all four men be demoted or have their current 
rank period extended. Demotions would amount to lost wages of between 
$3,700 and $5,000.

Despite the tough penalties, police say they're not going to change the way 
they deal with suspects.

The beatings have highlighted an increasingly controversial police policy 
of arresting suspected troublemakers and taking them somewhere other than 
the stationhouse. Commonly referred to as "starlight tours," the process is 
also under fire in Saskatchewan, where police have been criticized for 
dumping aboriginal suspects on the outskirts of town in freezing temperatures.
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