PETERS TRIED TO BE A GOOD COP

Rookie Sought Someone To Confide In After Beating

What would motivate rookie police officer Troy Peters to risk his future
with the Vancouver Police Department by spilling the beans on the beating
of three men in Stanley Park by fellow officers two years ago?

The answer may lie in the evidence being given by the strapping 28-year-old
at a public hearing called by the police complaint commissioner into the
firings of two former VPD constables over the affair.

Peters, sworn in as a witness on Monday, detailed what it means to be a
police officer.

He said he swore to "protect the rights of all citizens, whether they were
good citizens or bad citizens."

Born and raised in Abbotsford, Peters hadn't spent much time in downtown
Vancouver or Stanley Park before he signed up with the VPD and was assigned
to Team 4 for training, beginning Jan. 11, 2003, three shifts before the
beatings.

He had never been in Stanley Park at night in his life before then.

It was also the first time Peters had ever seen a police officer assault a
person being held in custody, and it sickened him.

Asked why he was upset, Peters responded, "I knew it was wrong. It bothered
me that I didn't know who to talk to."

On Jan. 16, Peters had a coffee in Sumas, Wash., with his good friend Pat
Dyck, a second-year constable with the New Westminster police.

"He encouraged me to speak with somebody at the Justice Institute," said
Peters.

Late that night Peters began writing his first statement on the events that
would rock the VPD. Some time the next morning he finished the report and
signed it.

He decided to pay a visit the next day to his future wife, Tonya Dupuis,
who had five years' experience as a police officer and was a member of the
Victoria police force.

On his way to the ferry, Peters stopped at the Justice Institute of B.C. in
New Westminster, where he sought the counsel of his police academy
instructor, Sgt. Keiron McDonnell.

McConnell was out, but Sgt. Jeff Danroth of the VPD was in.

Peters told him about a problem regarding "a friend" who had witnessed an
officer who had "gone too far" with a suspect.

He said Danroth told him to go to the police union, but Peters said he
didn't know anyone in the union.

Peters visited Dupuis and gave her a brief outline of what he had seen.

Dupuis offered her friend Const. Graham Makarewich, a Victoria constable
who had experience with the VPD, as someone who could provide good advice,
said Peters. "Const. Makarewich made a phone call to the [VPD] union on my
behalf," said Peters.

Peters scheduled a meeting with union president Tom Stamatakis in Vancouver
on Jan. 21. With Stamatakis at his side, Peters went to VPD's internal
affairs with his bombshell and gave his statement.

Six officers later pleaded guilty to assaulting the three men they picked
up on Granville Street around 5 a.m. on Jan. 14, 2003, and drove to the park.

Four of the officers were severely disciplined, and two -- Gabriel Kojima
and Duncan Gemmell -- were fired.

Kojima and Gemmell are fighting to get their jobs back.