Vancouver, B.C. – The BC Civil Liberties Association called for the Vancouver Police Department to bring in an outside police agency to investigate the recent alleged Vancouver Police Department officer’s shooting of an apparently homeless man in the 500 block of Homer Street this morning.

“This is the perfect opportunity for the VPD to demonstrate as much transparency as they can under our current police accountability laws,” says David Eby, acting Executive Director of the BCCLA. “It’s not a civilian investigation team, but bringing in a force like West Vancouver, Delta or another municipal force to investigate this shooting would show respect for the findings of Commissioner Davies.”

On March 12, 2009, Frank Paul Inquiry interim report author Commissioner William Davies said his investigation of Paul’s death showed “systemic flaws” in the manner in which the Vancouver Police Department conducted criminal investigations of police-related deaths at that time, which “continue today.”

“This death appears to be a police involved death of a homeless man, just like Frank Paul,” said Eby. “The VPD has been found not to be able to investigate its own under its current systems in exactly these circumstances. The public deserves to know that the yet unaddressed systemic flaws of VPD investigations will not taint this case.”

At the last Police Board meeting, the Board deferred discussions around the Frank Paul inquiry report and recommendations to their next meeting on April 15, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. at the Mount Pleasant Community Centre at 3161 Ontario Street. The BCCLA is advising interested members of the public to register as delegations to the Police Board meeting if they are concerned about the recommendations of the report.

MEDIA CONTACT:
David Eby, Acting Executive Director, (778) 865-7997