IN THE WAKE OF LOSS, A NEED FOR TRUTH

Nothing made sense.

It was like entering a dark tunnel into hell: My stomach was in knots; my
hands shook; and tears were running down my face as my wife Dorothy and I
went into our live-in nanny's bedroom to wake her up.

It was the middle of the night, and we were about to tell her that the West
Vancouver Police had just shot and killed her brother, Danny Posse, in a
drug bust. Kelly Posse's grief-stricken face is forever etched in my memory.

The next day was confusing. The police press release misstated many of the
facts, including that it was a major drug bust. They actually found less
than an ounce of marijuana.

Sally Posse, Danny's mother, wanted the truth, and through our
recommendation she hired a Burnaby criminal lawyer, Derek Corrigan ( now
mayor of Burnaby ), to get it. It was a difficult, well publicized case,
but through Corrigan and the work of the coroner's office, the family found
what they were looking for. The Posse family did not want to blame the
police officer; they didn't want to sue anyone. They just wanted the truth
about their son's death -- partially for closure and certainly to clear his
name. They wanted someone other than the police to get to the truth.

Now almost twenty years later, the sister of one of Danny's West Vancouver
schoolmates e-mailed me. She too is looking for the same thing. She too
needs that closure through truth.

Her name is Abbey Wilcox, and her "bipolar" brother, Matthew Wilcox, died
in Lions Gate Hospital after receiving a gunshot wound from a four-year
veteran of the North Vancouver RCMP. Up to now, Abbey Wilcox has refused
to talk to the media.

Media accounts of the January night indicate that Wilcox was driving
erratically and smashing into vehicles in the Mount Seymour area. When
stopped by the police officer, he refused to comply with orders. Instead,
he put his hand into his pocket and pulled out what the police officer
thought was a gun. Matthew was shot in the abdomen. The item in his
pocket turned out to be a cellphone.

That night and the weeks since have turned into a nightmare for Abbey and
her family. Her side of the story is somewhat different from the many
media reports and police-issued statements, but her fear is consistent with
almost all people who are connected with those who have died as the result
of a confrontation with police. She fears that a police-led investigation
will not be forthcoming with all the facts.

Her request for accountability and transparency is made all the more
difficult by the fact Abbey suffers from a head injury and has trouble
writing. A friend, Rebecca Thacker, writes for her. According to Abbey,
her mother is anguished. Her father suffers from Alzheimer's.

"They were told that Matthew was in stable condition, but they were not
allowed to visit him," Abbey said. "They were told because it was under
police investigation they weren't to talk about it. They were told
Matthew's name was not on any room in the hospital. They were never given
a room number. They tried to see him several times over two days and were
refused visitation each time. On Jan. 9, Matthew's lawyer saw him, and
the police had papers with Matthew's signature ( a release from police
custody to hospital care ). Four hours after the lawyer saw Matthew, the
family was notified that Matthew had died of a blood clot."

When Abbey was denied access to see her brother, she felt, in her own
words, "helpless, frustrated, shot in the heart. Me against the world, no
help."

When she learned that her brother had died and she had been prevented by
the hospital and police from seeing him, she felt "anger, rage, disgust,"
she said. "I feel like I am looked at as a problem. "

"When we were told he was dead, it felt like people were trying to
manipulate us," said Abbey.

Although the spokeswoman for Vancouver Coastal Health, Anna Marie D'Angelo
made it clear that she was unable to speak about the Wilcox case, she did
outline the non-visitation policy.

"I can tell you that if it is not clear what is going on in whatever
situation and the are police involved -- could be domestic violence, other
types of violence, etc. -- there are certain things that kick in to ensure
the safety of the patient, staff and other patients in the hospital. That
would include restricting all visitors and designating the patient as a
no-information patient, which means you can't find out where the patient is
or even if he/she is in the hospital.

"This kind of thing is not taken lightly, and the safety protocol is
applied in all cases where there is a perceived safety risk to anyone. The
safety protocol may be started through the police's suggestion, or hospital
admin may choose to do so themselves on their own." Sounds like a good
draconian policy ( right for a spy novel where people vanish into thin air
), until someone who was shot under extenuating circumstances by a police
bullet dies without being able to tell his family what happened.

Wilcox died just four hours after he was transferred from police custody to
the care of the hospital. Surely that policy needs to be revisited. Will
Abbey ever get the truth?

The current investigation into the shooting is being handled by the
Vancouver police. Ironically, just last month a panel of experts organized
by the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association called for immediate
reform of the Vancouver police force by replacing police-led internal
investigations with civilian-led probes.

"Police-led investigations of deaths that occur in police custody are
inherently flawed, with normal procedures thrown out the window, punitive
actions rarely being taken, and officers existing 'above the law,' " the
panel concluded.

What do the Vancouver Police have to say? They are not talking, other than
to say that the investigation could take a long time.

"The investigation can take anywhere from a few months up to a year to
complete, depending on certain expert reports that may be necessary from
outside consultants," said Vancouver Police Const. Jana McGuinness.

She did note that: "The findings are then subject to further review by the
Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP ( The CPC is an
independent agency created by Parliament to ensure that public complaints
made about the conduct of RCMP members are examined fairly and impartially
), who are also conducting a simultaneous review of the incident." That's
something that has yet to be reported but provides some hope that some of
the broader issues around the shooting will be dealt with.

Is there adequate police training in recognition of bi-polar agitation? If
Mathew Wilcox was "known to the police," as stated in police reports, then
why wasn't the RCMP officer informed of his mental condition? Why did the
police restrict access of the family to a severely injured person whom they
had shot?

As for Abbey, her mother and father, I don't think their desire for the
truth is too much.

In fact, anything less is a crime.