DRENNAN SAYS FOUR OFFICERS STILL ON FORCE AFTER CONVICTIONS

'These Aren't Secret Situations,' Says Vancouver Police Spokeswoman

Four other Vancouver police officers are still on the force after
being convicted of assault, department spokeswoman Anne Drennan said
Wednesday.

"These aren't secret situations," Drennan said in the wake of assault
convictions Monday against six more officers. "These are all stories
you covered," she said to reporters. She did not provide names of
other convicted.

The issue of officers keeping their jobs after being convicted has
been raised in the case of the six who pleaded guilty Monday to
assaulting three men in Stanley Park last year. The department has
said the six will not necessarily lose their jobs, although they face
sentencing on their convictions and face departmental disciplinary
action. When she was pressed on the issue Tuesday, Drennan abruptly
ended a press conference.

She said Wednesday disciplinary action was taken in all four previous
cases of assault by a police officer.

In one case, she said, the officer was demoted in rank for one year.
In another case, the officer lost several days' pay. She also said a
number of Vancouver police officers convicted of impaired driving
remain on the force although she didn't have the exact number. She
replied "no" when asked whether any Vancouver officers have been
convicted of more serious offences, such as assault causing bodily
harm or attempted murder, but still remain on the force.

There have been several cases in recent years of officers convicted of
assault either on duty or off:

Among them:

- - Vancouver police Sergeant Steve Fudge was convicted on Nov. 1, 1999,
of assaulting his wife in Delta. He was given a conditional discharge
and put on probation for one year.

- - Vancouver police Constable Richard Bernard Kitos received an
absolute discharge in 1999 after he admitted assaulting a 16-year-old.
The sentence resulted in no criminal record.

The court was told the incident stemmed from a gesture Alexandros
Zoubos made with his finger as Kitos and another officer drove past
the Joyce Street SkyTrain station on Sept. 27, 1997.

- - Detective Lou Williams was convicted in 1994 of common assault of a
prisoner in the city jail on Sept 24, 1993. He was allowed to return
to active duty.

- - In 1989, Vancouver police Corporal Brian Nixon was sentenced to a
nine-month jail term for the Sept. 30, 1983, assault of Michael
Jacobsen, a man with a criminal record for breaking and entering who
was arrested by officers "for his own protection" because he was
intoxicated in a public place. When he was released the next morning,
he was found to have a broken knee that required four bouts of
surgery. He sued the city, which settled out of court for more than
$60,000.

- - Vancouver police Constable Ian McColl was given an absolute
discharge in 1987 for assaulting a 13-year-old Province newspaper
carrier, who had ducked behind a Surrey home. The officer testified
the area was plagued by vandalism and property thefts and assumed the
boy was attempting to break into the house or van of his neighbour.

On Wednesday, Drennan invited Vancouver Police Union president Tom
Stamatakis to respond when a reporter asked: "Is there any crime for
which a police officer will be automatically dismissed?"

Stamatakis said a disciplinary authority -- normally the police chief
- -- would consider the nature of the offence. He said a conviction for
crimes such as illegal drug possession or sexual assault would likely
mean the officer would lose his job.

A sentence that resulted in a legal order that prohibited an officer
from carrying a weapon would probably cost an officer his job because
he would not be able to perform his duties as an officer, he said.

The case this week involved three men who were berated, punched and
shoved before being released from custody.

The six officers -- Christopher Cronmiller, Raymond Gardner, Duncan
Gemmell, James Kenney, Gabriel Kojima and Brandon Steele -- were
originally charged with assault, assault with a weapon and obstruction
of justice.

They pleaded guilty to common assault of Jason Desjardins, 28, Barry
Lawrie, 34, and Grant Wilson, 37. The incident took place Jan. 14 in a
parking lot in Stanley Park.

The officers, who were suspended with pay last Jan. 24, will be
sentenced Dec. 16 at Vancouver provincial court. They face a maximum
penalty of six months in jail, a fine of $2,000, or both. They will
also face disciplinary hearings early next year.

Stamatakis said the six officers were lawfully executing their duties
when they first came into contact with three suspected drug dealers at
Granville Mall.

"They transported them out of an area where they were committing
crime, disturbing the peace and interfering in the abilities of local
businesses to conduct their business," he said.

Stamatakis said the "incident" occurred when the suspects were being
released in Stanley Park. He rejected a reporter's suggestion that
police were in control when the assaults occurred.

"The suggestion that this was somehow an orchestrated or planned event
is not supported by the statement of facts entered into the courts a
couple of days ago," he said.