VANCOUVER POLICE CHIEF RECOMMENDS FIRINGS

VANCOUVER -- Calling the actions of his officers "inexcusable," Vancouver
Police Chief Jamie Graham says two constables should be fired for beating
up three suspected drug dealers in Stanley Park last January.

The officers -- Constables Duncan Gemmell, 40, and Gabriel Kojima, 25 --
are two of the so-called Stanley Park Six who pleaded guilty last month to
assaulting three men in a parking lot in the outer reaches of the downtown
park. A provincial judge said the attack was premeditated and the officers
all succumbed to a "mob mentality."

The judge discharged two men, suspended sentences for another two and
ordered house arrest for Constables Gemmell and Kojima.

Yesterday, Chief Graham had harsh words for all six, calling their actions
deplorable.

In a strongly worded statement that was broadcast throughout police
headquarters, then posted on the Internet, he also apologized to city
residents if "a few of my officers have in any way shaken their faith in
the Vancouver Police."

It's rare for the head of a police force to recommend that a member be
dismissed for an assault committed on the job, but Chief Graham said he
wanted to send a message that "there can be no justification for this type
of conduct."

His recommendations were forwarded to B.C.'s Office of the Police Complaint
Commissioner, which can accept them or call a public inquiry. The officers
can ask the commissioner to call an inquiry.

Deputy Police Chief Bob Rich told reporters he couldn't recall an instance
when a complaint commissioner rejected a police chief's penalty recommendation.

The chief's comments were a far cry from the initial police response. Last
fall, when the officers pleaded guilty to the assaults, police argued that
a criminal record need not necessarily lead to dismissal.

But yesterday, Chief Graham said the two officers singled out by the court
had to go.

Constable Gemmell, he said, initiated the attack and falsified a report to
cover up the illegal beating.

"His actions were deliberate and wrong," Chief Graham said. "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."

During sentencing last fall, the court heard that the three beating victims
had nearly 100 convictions among them. Police arrested them that night on
suspicion of dealing drugs. But instead of taking them to the stationhouse,
the officers drove them to Stanley Park, roughed them up, and let them loose.

The attack came to light when a young recruit who was with the officers
told his superiors.

Chief Graham also urged the firing of Constable Kojima, 25, the youngest
officer involved and the only one to wield a weapon in the attack. The
chief said this escalated the violence and degraded the complainants.

As for the other officers, he urged that Constables Chris Cronmiller,
Raymond Gardner, Brandon Steele and James Kenney be suspended 20 days
without pay and work for a year under an experienced officer who makes
quarterly reports on their conduct.

The chief also suggested that all four men be demoted or have their current
rank period extended. Demotions would amount to lost wages of between
$3,700 and $5,000.

Despite the tough penalties, police say they're not going to change the way
they deal with suspects.

The beatings have highlighted an increasingly controversial police policy
of arresting suspected troublemakers and taking them somewhere other than
the stationhouse. Commonly referred to as "starlight tours," the process is
also under fire in Saskatchewan, where police have been criticized for
dumping aboriginal suspects on the outskirts of town in freezing temperatures.