SIX POLICE OFFICERS HIT WITH ASSAULT CHARGES

Assault charges have been laid against six Vancouver police officers who
allegedly beat up three suspected drug dealers in Stanley Park on Jan. 14.

All six are charged with three counts of assault, assault with a weapon and
obstruction of justice.

They are: Constables James Kenny, 33, Raymond Gardner, 31, Brandon Steele,
30, Gabriel Kojima, 23, Duncan Gemmell, 38, and Christopher Cronmiller, 31.

Kenny is also facing one additional obstruction charge.

None has more than 41/2 years of experience as a police officer.

The prosecution will be led by Robert Gourlay, a senior criminal lawyer
from Vancouver.

In a short news release, the Vancouver Police Department stated that the
officers were suspended Jan. 24, immediately after the department learned
of the accusations.

All six remain suspended with pay in accordance with labour law, the news
release states.

The news release also included a brief statement from Chief Const. Jamie
Graham.

"We must all understand and respect that criminal law is based on fairness
and that all persons must not be convicted before their legal right to a
fair trial," it said in part.

The alleged assaults were reported to management by a concerned Vancouver
police officer.

In later interviews, the alleged victims told The Province they were
rounded up by police, driven to Stanley Park, beaten and left to walk home
shoeless.

The allegations arose just two months after the release of the Pivot
report, in which 50 people in the Downtown Eastside swore affidavits
complaining of abuse at the hands of Vancouver police.

The affidavits give examples of beatings that resulted in smashed teeth and
broken bones and describe "Starlight Tours" where perceived undesirables
are picked up and dumped in neighbourhoods far from home.