RCMP Watch

Stony Plain, Alta. — The RCMP needs better equipment and training, says the son of a slain RCMP officer.

At an inquiry examining Cpl. Jim Galloway’s death, Cory Galloway, 29, said Thursday that the force should have ceramic vests, night-vision goggles and an armoured personnel carrier for use in police standoffs.

His father was shot and killed by Martin Ostopovich during a police standoff in 2004. Ostopovich was then shot and killed by police.

Galloway told provincial court Judge Peter Ayotte he’d like RCMP brass to act as quickly as possible on their recommendations.

“We would like to see a more aggressive procurement schedule,” he said.

Galloway also asked that the RCMP devote more resources to training tactical team members.

“These officers face tremendous danger when they respond to these situations and it is our belief that we should keep our police officers as safe as possible,” the family wrote in a news release.

The lawyer for Ostopovich’s family, Charles Davison, has also made recommendations related to the care of the mentally ill and RCMP training.

Davison said after Ostopovich was hospitalized for a short time in 2002, he took his medications sporadically.

The recommendations are not binding. Fatality inquiries also don’t determine guilt or innocence.

Ayotte will consider all the evidence and issue a report in the next few months.
© CanWest News Service 2006