POLICE CHIEF LAYS DOWN THE LAW

Vancouver police chief Jamie Graham fired two of six officers who beat up
three men in Stanley Park and suspended four others without pay Wednesday.

"I wish to apologize to the citizens of Vancouver if the deplorable actions
of a few of my police officers have in any way shaken their faith in the
Vancouver police," Graham said at a news conference where he announced his
decision.

"What happened in Stanley Park was neither lawful nor approved by this
department."

While Graham said all six of the officers -- who pleaded guilty to assault
in November -- acted improperly, he noted that "they were all involved to a
different degree" and deserved "different degrees of discipline."

Fired are Constables Duncan Gemmell, 39, and Gabriel Kojima, 23.

Graham said Gemmell -- the most experienced of the officers involved --
delivered the first blow, instigating the assault, and later wrote a false
report.

"I believe this was a specific attempt to hide illegal behaviour," Graham
said. "His actions were deliberate and wrong. 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."

Graham said Kojima, the other fired officer, was the only one of the six
officers to use a weapon in the assault -- his baton -- and kicked one of
the victims in the head.

"He was later boastful and bragging about what he had done," Graham said.
"His actions are inexcusable."

The other four officers -- Christopher Cronmiller, 27, Raymond Gardner, 32,
James Kenney, 34, and Brandon Steele, 31 -- all received lesser punishment.

All four received a 20-day unpaid suspension -- the maximum suspension
allowed -- and received a demotion of one rank.

Cronmiller, who is already at the lowest rank, will have to wait a year
longer before being promoted.

The demotions will result in a loss off pay of from $3,700 to $5,000 a
year, the department said.

The four officers will also be forced to each work for at least a year
under the "close supervision" of a senior officer, who will file quarterly
reports on their progress. And the officers will have to attend training
and counselling sessions.

Graham said he decided not to fire the four officers because the Code of
Professional Conduct for police officers requires him to consider the
possibility than an officer "can be successfully rehabilitated, corrected
and educated."

Graham's decision is similar to that made earlier this month by Provincial
Court Judge Herb Weitzel, who also made a distinction between the officers
- -- sentencing only Gemmell and Kojima to house arrest.

Gemmell was sentenced to a 60-day conditional sentence at home under a
strict nightly curfew and Kojima was given a 30-day conditional sentence.

Gardner received nine months probation and 50 hours community service while
Steele received a suspended sentence, six months probation and 25 hours of
community service.

Cronmiller received a conditional discharge and Kenney received an absolute
discharge -- meaning neither of them will have a criminal record.

Graham's ruling -- reached after two days of disciplinary hearings -- is
not final.

His decision will be sent to the Police Complaints Commissioner, which can
decide to accept Graham's decision or reject it and hold a public inquiry.

The six officers also have the right to request a public hearing within 30
days.

Vancouver Police Union president Tom Stamatakis said Wednesday was one of
the most difficult days in the force's history.

"It's been a difficult day for the chief. I don't think this was an easy
process for him. It's a difficult day for many of our members," he said.
"We saw four of our members return to work and two of them have been
dismissed. These were well thought-of people in our organization."

Stamatakis said the decision to fire Gemmell and Kojima is not in the best
interest of the public or the organization. After conversations with both
former officers Wednesday, Stamatakis said no decision has been made yet on
whether to pursue a public hearing.

"They're devastated. They are two individuals who have made many decisions
in their lives to get them to this point where they can have this career
and now it's come to a sudden stop. It's a very emotional day for them."

B.C. police complaint deputy commissioner Dana Urban said he anticipates
the commission will receive the VPD's report within the next week.

After that, it could take two months before the commission decides if there
are any problems with the report.

It's extremely rare in B.C. for police officers to be fired. The last time
it happened in B.C. was in 2001, according to the commission, when an
officer who had assaulted his wife, inappropriately stored his firearm and
assaulted his girlfriend was dismissed by his force.

The three men the officers assaulted -- Barry Lawrie, Jason Desjardins and
Grant Wilson -- have more than 100 convictions between them, many for drug
offences.

The three were picked up on the Granville Mall and driven to Stanley Park.
A woman, Shannon Pritchard, was also picked up on Granville but was
released before the officers reached Stanley Park.

Murray Mollard, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association,
said Graham's ruling is "not nearly strong enough" and said he believed all
six officers should have been fired.

"None of these officers are fit to continue policing in Vancouver," he said.

Mollard -- who called Wednesday "a black day for policing in Vancouver" --
called on the commissioner to hold a public hearing into the incident.

However, Phil Rankin -- the lawyer who represents the three beating victims
in their civil suit against the city -- said he doesn't think a public
hearing would do much good.

"They're stretched to the limit at the Police Complaints Commission,"
Rankin said. "There's no reason to hold another public hearing."

Rankin also said he believes violence in the Vancouver police force is a
more widespread problem.

"I never saw this as a rotten group of apples," Rankin said. "I saw this as
a culture where they could get away with it."

Rankin said he would like to see the officers forced to repay the roughly
$50,000 each they received while on paid suspension over the past year.

"I frankly think the city paid out a lot of money for people who sat home
last year," Rankin said. "Make them pay back the year of wages they earned
while they were waiting."

Deputy Chief Bob Rich said the department is looking into whether it can
retrieve some of the legal fees it paid for the six officers in their
criminal trial, but said there is no mechanism in place for the wages to be
returned.

"When a person is suspended with pay, that's the way it is," Rich said.

John Richardson, executive director of the Pivot Legal Society, an advocacy
group that has gathered more than 50 affidavits from people in the Downtown
Eastside who have raised allegations of police misconduct said the VPD is
moving in the right direction.

"The chief took a good step. He needed to send a message to the police
force and the public that this behavior is unacceptable," Richardson said.
"He didn't go as far as he should have. There are still four officers with
criminal convictions on the force."

Richardson said the Vancouver police force's reputation is still damaged by
the Stanley Park beatings and other incidents.

"Reputation is something you earn over a period of time. You don't correct
it with one gesture and that's what today was -- a gesture, an indication
of a willingness to go in one direction. But the incident still happened."