RCMP Watch

(Vancouver Sun) - Good afternoon everyone. Thanks for taking the time to see us today.

My name is Alistair Macintyre and I am an Assistant Commissioner with the RCMP. My normal job is the Officer in Charge of Criminal Operations for British Columbia, but this week I am also the Acting Deputy Commissioner for the Pacific Region.

Before I start, I would once again express our sympathies and condolences to the Bush Family for their loss.

Now, with respect to release of the CPC report:

We welcome the release of the final report by the Commission for Public Complaints (CPC) against the RCMP into the Ian Bush police involved shooting. The CPC’s independent and objective review of the RCMP actions has provided a series of recommendations that the RCMP Commissioner has responded to.

The CPC looked at various aspects of the event that included areas like the overall investigation, the actions of all members involved, the investigative findings, and the member’s use of force, communications and overall policies and procedures for the arrest, detention and release of individuals.

There are two key findings we wish to address right away.

It is standard protocol for an outside Major Crime section to be called in to investigate any police involved shooting or in-custody death. That was done in this case and the CPC has found that the RCMP conducted a highly professional, impartial, unbiased and timely investigation into the shooting death of Ian Bush. The RCMP recognizes the need to maintain and where possible to continue to improve that investigative standard and is committed to doing so here in BC.

The issue of use of force is one that the RCMP takes very seriously. RCMP members received extensive training in DEPOT (our training academy) , which is assessed, reviewed, when necessary updated every 3 years during the mandatory Operational Skills Training or Block training sessions members in BC take part in at the Pacific Region Training Center or PRTC. The only exception to that is annual firearms refresher training and qualification which take place once a year. The PRTC uses scenario based training to review a Member’s judgment and tactics when it comes to use of force and intervention options that may be available.

In this case, the CPC found that the Cst. Koester’s use of force was in accordance with his training and appropriate given the situation where Cst. Koester had a reasonable apprehension of death and believed that he could not otherwise preserve himself from death other than to use lethal force.

The CPC report also outlined some of the communications challenges presented in this case. The balance between timely and accurate information, family wishes, and the integrity of the investigation remains one that is constantly being assessed in every case. The RCMP remains committed to effective and efficient methods of communications a has already begun to implement measures such as the use of publicly accessible websites, greater internal access to communications advise and council, set protocols and strategies for police involved shootings and on-going reviews and meetings with stakeholders and partners. Can we do it better…yes and we will strive to do so.

The issue of use or implementation of Closed Circuit Video Equipment (CCVE) within Detachments was raised by the Coroner’s Inquest, as well as the CPC. The RCMP in BC is a key participants in a working group that involves the Solicitor General, to set standards for Closed Circuit Video Equipment. We have been working for some time on the implementation, but now this process will be accelerated. We expect this change will be completed by the fall of 2008. This is a costly venture and on the provincial sites alone, the cost to implement will exceed 5.5 million dollars in public funds.

From the very beginning, the RCMP expressed that it welcomed any process that allows for a full review of all the facts related to the incident. The CPC investigation and the Coroner’s Inquest have both provided their recommendations, which will provide valuable input as we strive to provide the best policing services possible, while maintaining public and police officer safety. It should also be noted that several other groups have conducted independent reviews such as the New Westminster Police service, and Crown Counsel. And in each case, the findings were consist with the key findings of the CPC.

It is important to note that in our view, none of the recommendations made by the CPC would have prevented the tragic event that occurred on October 29, 2005. We recognize that what occurred was emotionally difficult for all those involved. Our goal has always been to determine all the facts related to the events, while remaining fully cooperative with the independent reviews of our actions. Both the Coroner’s inquest and the CPC investigation have been concluded and we fully intend on looking at the recommendations and findings and implementing any measure that will ultimately increase public and police officer safety. Our policies and procedures are living documents that are constantly being assessed, reviewed and updated. And we will continue to review our actions and methods in the future, in order to make sure that we do have most relevant and accurate processes in place.