PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN POLICE BEING TESTED

Three years later, hearings into police conduct during the 'riot at the
Hyatt' are still stalled by legal wrangling

In February of 1992, Zhang Feng Hua was dragged by his hair from his
closet, beaten and sprayed with Capstan after police mistakenly raided his
East Vancouver suite. They had the wrong address. Three months later, Danny
Posse was shot to death by police who burst into his North Vancouver home
looking for marijuana.

Police reaction to these misdeeds was nearly as appalling as the incidents
themselves. They steadfastly refused to apologize to Mr. Zhang. One officer
characterized Mr. Posse as a casualty of illicit drug use. An inquiry was
subsequently held into policing in the province by B.C. Supreme Court
Justice Wallace Oppal, who recommended the creation of a civilian body to
examine cases of alleged police misconduct.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner is now three years old, and
some people aren't happy with the job it's doing, either.

Barbara Moyle complained to the commissioner about Vancouver city police
behaviour at the "riot at the Hyatt."

Demonstrators were at the hotel to protest Prime Minister Jean Chretien's
role in suppressing dissent during the Vancouver APEC summit. Police struck
several protesters with batons after some of them rushed police lines. An
internal police investigation found the officers had done nothing wrong.

Now, three years after the incident, public hearings into the matter remain
stalled by legal wrangling. "The only people who are gaining from this are
the lawyers," Ms. Moyle said. "This proceeding would be an absolute
deterrent to anyone filing a complaint."

The police aren't happy, either. In the Hyatt case, they complained that
the commissioner acted inappropriately by appointing both the adjudicator
and the commissioner's own counsel, and by naming the two officers who
supervised the police at the Hyatt as respondents. The Associate Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of B.C. now appoints the adjudicator.

However, Vancouver city police are still seeking leave to appeal to the
Supreme Court of Canada a July B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that the
hearings can go ahead.

The police are entitled to the same due process accorded to the people they
occasionally abuse. But this delay, which could set the Hyatt hearing back
another year, does little to inspire confidence in the process.

Of course, the legislation that created the Office of the Police Complaint
Commissioner is new, and some aspects of it need to be tested in court.

The commissioner himself can be expected to make a few false steps as he
finds his legs. Critics of the delays in the commission's business must be
mindful of these realities.

Police, however, must also be aware -- whether or not this perception is
fair -- that it's starting to look like their lawyers, well paid from the
public purse, are simply obstructing an investigation into police affairs.
The Vancouver police board should keep this in mind the next time the
police ask for money to pay their legal fees.

If the police don't like the way the commission is conducting its business,
they have another avenue of appeal, although it's a political rather than a
legal one. The provincial government is required to re-examine the
legislation that created the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner
after three years. That review is now under way.

Several questions need to be asked. How adversarial should the process be?
Should the commissioner be required to name at the outset respondents who
might be blamed? Should the commissioner have the power to discipline
officers, as he does now, or should he simply be able to recommend
discipline to individual police forces?

These are complex questions, but there's a simple truth at the core of the
issue. Public confidence in the police is not as high as it ought to be.

We need a strong, effective, civilian office to review police behaviour
when police officers appear to have overstepped their authority.

The provincial government must not be afraid to alter the rules for the
complaint commissioner, but they must ensure that his office has the
authority to do its job effectively.

Zhang Feng Hua and the family of Danny Posse are entitled to nothing less.