We Don't Need No Stinkin' External Investigations!

IndependenceRising
CommissionerVille

Remember a few months ago when VPD Chief Jamie Graham went on the attack after local poor people's advocate, the Pivot Legal Society, made 56 abuse complaints against the Vancouver Police:

"The facts are now in," he (Graham) said. "The evidence simply does not exist to substantiate these alarming and irresponsible allegations. Both the RCMP and VPD investigators concluded that there was not a single case of criminal activity by a Vancouver police officer-not one."

Graham's statement came after the RCMP concluded its investigation into the allegations, which included torture, kidnapping and assaults on Downtown Eastside residents......

"We're the only department I know of in Canada that [holds press briefings] every day. You have complete access to pretty well everything we do. If we do something wrong, you'll find out about it, and we're accountable for that."



Even the Province's Top-Cop, Rich 'RedMeat' Coleman got into the act:

"Solicitor General Rich Coleman backed the department.

"They (the public) can have confidence in this police force, it's a very good police force," he told CKNW radio."

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But that was then and this now.

Because there's a new boy in town.

Dirk Ryneveld is his name, and it looks like he's prepared, unlike former old boy Don Morrison, to do what an independent Police Commisioner is supposed to do - examine the evidence and do this crazy, weird, bizarre thing known as acting, well, independently.

And even better, Mr. Ryneveld is not afraid to name names and speak truth to power.

"British Columbia's police commissioner wants an independent review of the Vancouver police department over complaints that some officers abused people living in the Downtown Eastside – the city's poorest neighbourhood....

"That external investigation met with frustrations and lack of co-operation. And the result of that was that Chief Graham then ordered his own staff to reinvestigate the matter," said Ryneveld.

"To me, that, in effect, thwarts the whole purpose of an external investigation and I'm, of course, concerned about that, as well."

Ryneveld says his review found nine of the complaints were valid."

And if you, like me, were wondering why Mr. Coleman suddenly started screaming like a banshee a couple of days ago about the despicable fact that excess traffic fine monies returned to municipalities were being used for ridiculously stupid things like schools, sewers and vaccination programs instead of war on crime stuff like sweeping the streets clean of squeegie kids, rubbies and poor people, maybe it was deflector spin because he knew that Mr. Ryneveld was getting ready to go after him as well.

"He (Ryneveld) is calling on B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman to audit the Vancouver police department.

Coleman rejected that idea moments after the call was made."


All of which got us to wondering if the LINO's now wish that Lorne Mayencourt had actually lost his Vancouver-Burrard by the skin of his teeth seat to Tim Stevenson.

After all, Little Lord Lorne would have been the perfect 'law-and-order-in-a-soundbite' replacement for Mr. Ryneveld.


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A while back frequent contributor lenin's ghost took me to task for slagging Wally Oppal. Well, this issue just might be the Big O's big chance, particularly given the fact that it was his investigation into police practices more than a decade ago that help paved the way for the formation of the Commissioner's office in the first place.

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