RCMP Watch

Joey Thompson (Vancouver Province) - Another young family’s lives have been irreparably ripped to shreds by an inexplicable tragedy involving an unidentified B.C. Mountie working solo.Again, grief-stricken relatives and a saddened public have no choice but to swallow the version of events fed them by workmates of the very officer involved in the horrific crash that left two boys without their mom, Emmanuella Cauchon, 33.

I don’t care that Richmond RCMP investigators claim the unnamed member’s conduct was squeaky-clean, that the right-of-way was his when he entered the junction at Cambie Street and No. 6 Road in Richmond, that they heard the pregnant mom had been speeding earlier and that in the interest of transparency and accountability they plan to parade the mangled metal in front of cameras today.

I don’t care because I can’t rely on what they say. Members of the once-revered 134-year-old force have shown their word can’t be trusted, that their view of events involving themselves frequently bears little resemblance to reality.

I don’t need to go beyond the truth-stretching undertaken by Richmond officers to cover butts following the tragic, needless death of a Polish arrivee who died after Richmond Mounties Tasered him at the airport, but I will:

n RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli had to resign last year after a memory lapse and credibility collapse surrounding key elements of the Maher Arar calamity.

n Senior officers covered up the mishandling and fudging of RCMP pension and insurance funds, according to members who testified at a recent government inquiry.

n Troubling questions persist regarding the execution-style shooting of a young man in custody in a Houston RCMP interrogation room.

n RCMP lied about the extent of a search of an Air India flight’s cargo hold and passenger cabin prior to the 1985 bombing that killed 329, according to a public inquiry.

n The public has yet to learn the truth behind the allegations of lies and misconduct by then Kelowna RCMP investigating the still unresolved murder of little Mindy Tran.

If Richmond RCMP were truly wedded to accountability, as they claim, they would have stood back and called for a non-police probe of Sunday’s deadly car crash.

The fact the top-heavy, 25,000-member force is not able to investigate itself impartially was highlighted recently by a federal task force, which, among many other sound improvements, recommended terminating the conflict-of-interest practice and replacing it with a non-police, independent commission for complaints. It’s something the public and media have wanted for years, but hearing it from an external source was hugely gratifying.

At least it was until Sunday, when we learned of yet another mishap involving a Mountie who survived, a civilian who died and a one-sided report upon which we can’t rely.

I’m not saying the RCMP’s interim findings that point a finger at Cauchon are a pack of lies, although I can’t recall the last time they found any wrongdoing by their own.

I am saying that only an arms-length, impartial probe will begin to restore the public’s confidence and help ease the suffering of an eight-year-old and his little brother.