Latest news with #OfficeofthePoliceComplaintCommissioner
Global News
28-06-2025
- Global News
Public hearing ordered of alleged racist posts among Nelson police officers
For three years, the Nelson Police Department has been at the centre of an investigation into alleged racist posts in a private WhatsApp chat. Now, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has ordered three current and three retired officers from the department to take part in a public hearing. We first reported the allegations in 2022, when eight officers were initially under investigation, which was conducted by the Vancouver Police Department. It resulted in two officers being cleared of wrongdoing. Six were found to have committed discreditable conduct. 1:14 Nearly half the officers at the Nelson Police Department are under investigation In ordering the hearing, complaint commissioner Prahbu Rajan said, 'There needs to be clarity for the officers involved in this case, and for policing more generally, about whether group chats between police officers are protected and when they bring discredit to their police department or undermine a respectful workplace culture.' Story continues below advertisement Professor Arthur Schafer, founding director for the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba commented about the case, saying, 'It's important because when police officers have a racist or sexist attitudes, when they're prejudiced, when they're bigoted, those attitudes are likely to leak into their conduct as police officers and to prejudice their ability to act professionally.' 1:41 Nelson police officers facing discipline following report on racist messages The case faced delays due to a constitutional challenge, with some officers arguing their rights were contravened when their chat logs were obtained. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Schafer said that when the adjudication of the case is finished, it will be an occasion for reflection, 'to think about how we recruit new members of the police force, how we train them, what attitudes and values we inculcate as they're learning how to become police officers.' Dates for the public hearing are still to be determined. It will be overseen by retired judge Brent Hoy.
Vancouver Sun
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Police investigating themselves 'insufficient': VPD refutes complaint about DTES arrest quotas
A new Vancouver police board report rebuts claims there are arrest quotas in the Downtown Eastside, noting officers on Task Force Barrage are guided only by performance measures, not enforced targets, after a whistleblower sparked a month-long investigation. The complaint, filed anonymously with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner on March 8, alleged that officers were being pushed to meet daily arrest quotas as part of the controversial drug enforcement initiative in the Downtown Eastside. A key piece of evidence cited by the whistleblower was an email from a staff sergeant on the Vancouver police beat enforcement team sent to sergeants and acting sergeants. The email, which outlined operational strategies for covert drug enforcement, stated: 'Ideally, we'd like 2-3 drug arrests and charges a day.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'I write as a VPD officer who is disgusted by the politically motivated crackdown that has been launched by the VPD. It is sad that I can't raise my concerns inside of the VPD,' reads the complaint. Launched in mid-February, Task Force Barrage is a Vancouver Police Department program aimed at reducing violent crime in the Downtown Eastside. Backed by $5 million from city hall, the project has increased police presence in the neighbourhood by deploying extra officers and using overtime shifts to patrol the area more intensively. At a Vancouver police board meeting Thursday, Assistant Supt. Matthew Harty, who conducted an internal investigation into the complaint, described the task force's performance measures as being more like 'aspirational goals.' 'VPD does set performance measures, and there's a distinct difference between the two,' said Harty. 'Quotas are rigid and have formal or informal employer rewards and punishments attached, potentially leading to significant ethical issues and possible police deviance.' However, not everyone is convinced by the VPD's explanation. 'Performance measures and quotas are essentially the same thing in policing,' said Kash Heed, a former Vancouver police superintendent and a former B.C. solicitor general and a current City of Richmond councillor. Last month, Vancouver police released statistics suggesting Task Force Barrage has successfully reduced violence and property crime in targeted neighbourhoods during its first three months compared to the same period in 2024. Heed acknowledged these gains but emphasized the need for a wider focus on performance measures. He said a stronger focus on reducing violence related to drug trafficking and gang activity, particularly violence impacting vulnerable residents, is critical to meeting the task force's stated goals. 'They can't solve the problems in the Downtown Eastside by making arrests alone.' In a letter to the police board dated June 3, University of B.C. law professor Benjamin Perrin called the quota allegations 'serious' and warned they raise red flags about policing in one of Canada's most vulnerable communities. Perrin pointed to the potential harm against Indigenous residents, who make up more than 30 per cent of the Downtown Eastside population, arguing that quota-driven policing risks deepening systemic discrimination already entrenched in Canada's justice system. 'Simply put, the police investigating themselves is insufficient,' wrote Perrin, who is urging the board to launch an independent and transparent inquiry into Task Force Barrage. Such a review, Perrin said, must include whistleblower-protected testimony, input from Indigenous leaders and a broader look at how the operation is affecting public access to services and overall community well-being. sgrochowski@
Global News
12-06-2025
- Global News
B.C. officer should get 7-day suspension for woman's plastic bullet death, hearing finds
A Victoria police officer who fired the 'less lethal' round into a smoky apartment that struck and killed a woman six years ago should be suspended for seven days without pay, a discipline hearing has concluded. Retired judge Wally Oppal ruled in May that Sgt. Ron Kirkwood committed misconduct under the Police Act in the Christmas Day 2019 incident that left 43-year-old Lisa Rauch dead. Oppal concluded that Kirkwood was a good police officer who had made an error during a difficult call, resulting in 'catastrophic circumstances.' 2:08 Hearing into Victoria police officer's actions in 2019 death of Lisa Rauch Firing three projectiles from the ARWEN, a so-called 'less-lethal launcher,' into a room with obscured visibility was 'reckless and unnecessary,' Oppal found. Story continues below advertisement The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) ordered a public hearing into the death in 2023 on appeals from Rauch's family, who said they received inconsistent information from police and from the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) — B.C.'s civilian police watchdog. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy An IIO investigation had cleared police of criminal wrongdoing in the incident. The OPCC-ordered hearing heard that Rauch had been visiting a friend in the building and that the two had consumed alcohol and crystal meth before a fire broke out. Victoria police were called to reports that she was barricaded inside a suite and had threatened someone with a knife. The hearing heard that responding officers responded to smoke coming from the unit's window by entering the apartment, where Kirkwood fired three rounds from the ARWEN gun, striking Rauch in the head. 1:07 Vancouver police department shoot and arrest the wrong man She was knocked unconscious and never woke up. Story continues below advertisement Kirkwood told the hearing he believed Lisa posed a danger to others and that he fired the projectiles into the unit, believing he was aiming at her torso. In concluding Kirkwood had committed misconduct, Oppal ruled the sergeant should not have fired at Rauch with his vision obscured by smoke, and that that situation didn't justify potentially deadly force. He accepted that Kirwkood had not intended to kill Rauch, and that the officer felt genuine remorse. He also dismissed allegations that Kirkwood neglected his duty by failing to document his actions. A coroner's inquest into the death is still set to be scheduled in the coming months. — with files from the Canadian Press
National Observer
12-06-2025
- National Observer
Decision coming over an officer's use of anti-riot gun in BC woman's death
An adjudicator appointed by BC's police watchdog is expected to release his decision on the discipline for an officer who fired an anti-riot weapon, killing a woman. Former BC Supreme Court judge Wally Oppal ruled last month that Victoria police Sgt. Ron Kirkwood's use of a so-called ARWEN gun on Lisa Rauch was "reckless and unnecessary." Oppal was appointed by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner to review the evidence against the officer and determined Kirkwood committed misconduct when he used the weapon on the woman, who was in a drug-induced psychosis. The commission says Oppal, a former BC attorney general, is also expected to issue his decision on possible corrective measures and recommendations for change in relation to his findings. Oppal's ruling said the 43-year-old woman was at a friend's Victoria apartment using drugs and alcohol when she went into the psychosis on Christmas Day 2019. It says when police entered the apartment, their view was obscured by smoke from a fire and they believed Rauch was standing, but she was actually sitting and was hit in the head by two plastic projectiles.
Winnipeg Free Press
12-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Decision coming over officer's use of anti-riot gun in B.C. woman's death
VICTORIA – An adjudicator appointed by B.C.'s police watchdog is expected to release his decision on the discipline for an officer who fired an anti-riot weapon, killing a woman. Former B.C. Supreme Court judge Wally Oppal ruled last month that Victoria police Sgt. Ron Kirkwood's use of a so-called ARWEN gun on Lisa Rauch was 'reckless and unnecessary.' Oppal was appointed by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner to review the evidence against the officer and determined Kirkwood committed misconduct when he used the weapon on the woman, who was in a drug-induced psychosis. The commission says Oppal, a former B.C. attorney general, is also expected to issue his decision on possible corrective measures and recommendations for change in relation to his findings. Oppal's ruling said the 43-year-old woman was at a friend's Victoria apartment using drugs and alcohol when she went into the psychosis on Christmas Day 2019. It says when police entered the apartment, their view was obscured by smoke from a fire and they believed Rauch was standing, but she was actually sitting and was hit in the head by two plastic projectiles. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025.
