Globe: Gary Mason - RCMP's silence in man's death unfair to parents
Post
Saturday, May 6, 2006, Globe and Mail, RCMP's silence in man's death unfair to parents, Gary Mason
VANCOUVER -- It's been more than six months since Ian Bush, a mill worker from Houston, B.C., was shot in the back of the head while in RCMP custody.
His family is still waiting for answers.
"We thought we would have heard something by now," says Linda Bush, the young man's mother. "We'd like to get on with our lives but we can't until the RCMP tells us what happened and why."
I wrote about Mr. Bush's death in last Saturday's Focus section. In the event you missed it, here is what we know.
On Oct. 29, 2005, Mr. Bush was holding an open beer outside a hockey game in Houston when he was approached by Constable Paul Koester, who had been an RCMP officer for only five months. When the officer asked Mr. Bush to identify himself, the 22-year-old gave him the name of a friend.
Constable Koester quickly determined Mr. Bush had given him a false name and arrested him for obstructing an investigation. He took the young man to the police station, two minutes from the hockey arena. It was 9:30 p.m. Twenty minutes later, after a scuffle with the officer, Mr. Bush lay dead on the floor of an interview room at the detachment, a bullet in the back of his head.
The shooting was investigated by the serious-crimes unit of the Prince George RCMP, which wrapped up its report a few weeks ago. The Bush family was told the report will now be reviewed by another police detachment in the Lower Mainland.
Staff Sergeant John Ward told me in an interview a few weeks ago that if any criminal charges are recommended stemming from the force's internal investigation, the matter will go to Crown counsel. It could then take the Crown up to two or three months to decide whether there is a strong enough case to go to court.
There is also a coroner's inquest yet to be held. If the matter goes to court, the inquest won't begin until after judicial proceedings are wrapped up. And the RCMP's own investigation into the shooting will not be made public until after the coroner's inquest, according to Staff Sgt. Ward, who acknowledged that it could be months yet before the force's own investigation into the shooting is made public.
I'm sorry, but that is ridiculous.
A mother and father should not have to wait, possibly more than year, to find out how in heaven's name their son ended up dead because he'd had a few drinks, had an open beer and, like many 22-year-olds who might have had a few too many, gave a police officer a phony name.
It's not like there is a long list of witnesses to interview. There is only one, Constable Koester.
Because there was evidently no one else in the detachment at the time of the shooting, and because the video equipment that is used to tape prisoner interviews was apparently not turned on, there is only his word to go on.
So why, then, does the Bush family have to wait possibly a year or more before the RCMP releases its report? I understand that some shootings involving officers are more complex than others but how complicated can this one be?
A young man -- according to everyone in town, he was the nicest kid you'd ever meet -- gets arrested and is dead 20 minutes later with a bullet to the back of his head. There is only one other person in the room. Still, the parents of the dead man have to wait months and months before the RCMP deigns to tell them what happened.
That's pretty rotten.
We all appreciate the wonderful work the RCMP does every day across this country. But the Mounties must also be accountable for the actions of their members and be accountable in as timely a fashion as possible.
Trying to get anyone in the RCMP to talk about this case has been impossible. The RCMP detachment in Houston won't return calls. The RCMP in Prince George that investigated the matter won't talk. And Staff Sgt. Ward, the RCMP's media liaison officer in Vancouver, isn't giving out much information either.
"It takes long because it takes long," he said, when asked about the length of time it has taken to investigate the shooting. "We'd like it to be over in 60 minutes like most TV shows but that's not real life."
Yes, but in this case there is only one person to talk to -- the officer who was in the room at the time of Mr. Bush's death.
What about the RCMP's policies and procedures around handling of a prisoner, I asked Staff Sgt. Ward. Is an officer supposed to be wearing his gun when he's alone with a prisoner? Is video equipment supposed to be turned on?
"I'm not going to tell you that because you're going to link it to the story," Staff Sgt. Ward told me in an interview for last Saturday's article.
When it was suggested the public had a right to know that information, he said: "The public doesn't have a right to know anything."
That is an attitude that may explain a lot of things in this case.
I think the RCMP's conduct in this case has not cast the force in the best light. There has to be a better way. Little consideration appears to have been given to members of the Bush family who need answers before getting on with their lives.
Is there not a politician out there with the guts to ask: What the hell is going on? Or are the RCMP untouchable?
gmason@globeandmail.com
VANCOUVER -- It's been more than six months since Ian Bush, a mill worker from Houston, B.C., was shot in the back of the head while in RCMP custody.
His family is still waiting for answers.
"We thought we would have heard something by now," says Linda Bush, the young man's mother. "We'd like to get on with our lives but we can't until the RCMP tells us what happened and why."
I wrote about Mr. Bush's death in last Saturday's Focus section. In the event you missed it, here is what we know.
On Oct. 29, 2005, Mr. Bush was holding an open beer outside a hockey game in Houston when he was approached by Constable Paul Koester, who had been an RCMP officer for only five months. When the officer asked Mr. Bush to identify himself, the 22-year-old gave him the name of a friend.
Constable Koester quickly determined Mr. Bush had given him a false name and arrested him for obstructing an investigation. He took the young man to the police station, two minutes from the hockey arena. It was 9:30 p.m. Twenty minutes later, after a scuffle with the officer, Mr. Bush lay dead on the floor of an interview room at the detachment, a bullet in the back of his head.
The shooting was investigated by the serious-crimes unit of the Prince George RCMP, which wrapped up its report a few weeks ago. The Bush family was told the report will now be reviewed by another police detachment in the Lower Mainland.
Staff Sergeant John Ward told me in an interview a few weeks ago that if any criminal charges are recommended stemming from the force's internal investigation, the matter will go to Crown counsel. It could then take the Crown up to two or three months to decide whether there is a strong enough case to go to court.
There is also a coroner's inquest yet to be held. If the matter goes to court, the inquest won't begin until after judicial proceedings are wrapped up. And the RCMP's own investigation into the shooting will not be made public until after the coroner's inquest, according to Staff Sgt. Ward, who acknowledged that it could be months yet before the force's own investigation into the shooting is made public.
I'm sorry, but that is ridiculous.
A mother and father should not have to wait, possibly more than year, to find out how in heaven's name their son ended up dead because he'd had a few drinks, had an open beer and, like many 22-year-olds who might have had a few too many, gave a police officer a phony name.
It's not like there is a long list of witnesses to interview. There is only one, Constable Koester.
Because there was evidently no one else in the detachment at the time of the shooting, and because the video equipment that is used to tape prisoner interviews was apparently not turned on, there is only his word to go on.
So why, then, does the Bush family have to wait possibly a year or more before the RCMP releases its report? I understand that some shootings involving officers are more complex than others but how complicated can this one be?
A young man -- according to everyone in town, he was the nicest kid you'd ever meet -- gets arrested and is dead 20 minutes later with a bullet to the back of his head. There is only one other person in the room. Still, the parents of the dead man have to wait months and months before the RCMP deigns to tell them what happened.
That's pretty rotten.
We all appreciate the wonderful work the RCMP does every day across this country. But the Mounties must also be accountable for the actions of their members and be accountable in as timely a fashion as possible.
Trying to get anyone in the RCMP to talk about this case has been impossible. The RCMP detachment in Houston won't return calls. The RCMP in Prince George that investigated the matter won't talk. And Staff Sgt. Ward, the RCMP's media liaison officer in Vancouver, isn't giving out much information either.
"It takes long because it takes long," he said, when asked about the length of time it has taken to investigate the shooting. "We'd like it to be over in 60 minutes like most TV shows but that's not real life."
Yes, but in this case there is only one person to talk to -- the officer who was in the room at the time of Mr. Bush's death.
What about the RCMP's policies and procedures around handling of a prisoner, I asked Staff Sgt. Ward. Is an officer supposed to be wearing his gun when he's alone with a prisoner? Is video equipment supposed to be turned on?
"I'm not going to tell you that because you're going to link it to the story," Staff Sgt. Ward told me in an interview for last Saturday's article.
When it was suggested the public had a right to know that information, he said: "The public doesn't have a right to know anything."
That is an attitude that may explain a lot of things in this case.
I think the RCMP's conduct in this case has not cast the force in the best light. There has to be a better way. Little consideration appears to have been given to members of the Bush family who need answers before getting on with their lives.
Is there not a politician out there with the guts to ask: What the hell is going on? Or are the RCMP untouchable?
gmason@globeandmail.com
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