The BCCLA endorsed a key recommendation that the RCMP no longer investigate itself in today‟s report by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) into the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport.

“The report finds that the investigation was flawed in many respects, including that the supervising officer at the scene of the death was present at the briefing of the investigative team,” said Robert Holmes, President of the BCCLA. “With these kinds of persistent and obvious problems with RCMP investigations, it would be difficult for the CPC to come to any other recommendation.”

The CPC, the police chiefs of British Columbia, and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and other key police accountability organizations now all agree that the RCMP, along with municipal police forces in B.C., can no longer investigate themselves and at the same time maintain public confidence in their work.

“The ‘integrated’ team that investigated the Dziekanski death were all RCMP officers,” said Holmes. “This is the team that was called in to show the independence of the investigative process when someone dies in RCMP custody. The government needs to act now to ensure that there are no more flawed investigations when people die at the hands of the police, and that these obvious conflicts of interest are addressed.”

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Robert Holmes, President, 604-838-6856
David Eby, Executive Director, 778-865-7997