POLICEMEN PLEAD GUILTY TO ASSAULT

Vancouver officers charged in beatings of suspected dealers

VANCOUVER -- In a surprise development, six Vancouver police officers
charged with beating suspected drug dealers in a city park last winter have
each pleaded guilty to the assaults.

All six men appeared in a provincial courthouse yesterday afternoon. All
told, the word "guilty" was uttered 18 times during the brief hearing. The
officers, who ranged in age from 23 to 38, were impeccably dressed, in dark
suits and sweaters.

Their trial had been scheduled for next summer, but yesterday all six men
pleaded guilty to three counts each of assault. They are to be sentenced
next month.

The convicted officers, all uniformed constables, are: Christopher
Cronmiller, Raymond Gardner, Duncan Gemmell, James Kenney, Gabriel Kojima
and Brandon Steele.

Each admitted taking part in the early-morning assaults on Grant Wilson,
Jason Desjardins and Barry Lawrie last January.

The police drove the men in a paddy wagon to a Stanley Park beach and, one
by one, beat all three.

"They have admitted their misconduct," Crown attorney Robert Gourlay said
outside court. After the hearing, the officers quickly left the courthouse,
brushing past reporters and refusing to comment.

Now that each officer has a criminal record, it's not clear what their
futures hold.

All have expressed a desire to remain on the force. An internal police
disciplinary hearing is scheduled for next January. They have all been
suspended with pay, since earlier this year.

David Butcher, the lawyer for one of the officers, said there is precedent
for an officer keeping a badge even after being convicted of a crime.

According to a statement of facts read to the court by Mr. Gourlay, police
spotted the three men and a woman in a downtown Vancouver convenience store
after 4 a.m. Police suspected they were making a drug deal and arrested all
four. Mr. Wilson resisted arrest and police called for backup.

Police piled all four suspects into a paddy wagon and headed for Stanley
Park, but released the female suspect before reaching the entrance. Then,
near a remote beach, the men were ordered out of the vehicle one by one, Mr.
Gourlay told the court.

Mr. Lawrie was poked and shoved. Constable Gemmell punched Mr. Desjardins in
the stomach, causing him to fall over. When he got back on his feet,
Constable Gardner shoved him in the chest. Constable Kojima hit the man in
the knee with his baton.

The last man out of the police vehicle was Mr. Wilson. Constable Steele
punched him in the chest, Mr. Gourlay said. Constable Gardner shoved him and
Constable Kojima grabbed and pulled him until he fell, then prodded him with
his boot. All three suspects were yelled at throughout the beatings.

One officer, Constable Kenney, did not participate in the beatings but
watched from about six or seven metres away.

Afterward, none of the officers reported the beatings. The next week,
another officer who was involved in the initial arrests, reported the crime.

The assaults came at a time when the Vancouver Police Department was under
increasing scrutiny for excessive use of force. Last spring, a Vancouver
legal society issued a report that said Vancouver police routinely beat and
harass the city's poor and addicted in the city's Downtown Eastside. Mr.
Butcher, the lawyer for Mr. Gemmell, said the officers are sorry for their
actions and have written letters of apology to the victims, the force and
the people of Vancouver.

But outside the courthouse, the president of the police union was less
contrite. Constable Tom Stamatakis said Vancouver police face enormous
pressures not faced by other police departments across the country.

"I think from time to time police officers make mistakes," Constable
Stamatakis told reporters outside court. "The police officers are taking
responsibility for their actions."