The Coroner’s Inquest into the death of Jeff Berg while in police custody raises serious policy questions about the way the process addresses the interests of the deceased’s family.

A coroner’s inquest is a quasi-judicial administrative proceeding before a jury involving lawyers, witness testimony and the introduction of documentary evidence. It is conducted by a coroner, a person who may not have legal training but who relies on advice and submissions from coroner’s counsel, a lawyer retained by the Coroner’s Service. An inquest is mandatory in the case of any person who dies while in police detention or custody. The family of the deceased has standing to participate in the inquest with a lawyer.

However, the reality is that most people cannot afford to hire a lawyer to prepare for and attend an inquest, especially if it is lengthy. The police tend to be well-represented by counsel. In the Berg inquest, for example, three sets of lawyers represent the Vancouver Police Department, the VPD officer who kicked Jeff Berg, and all the other VPD members involved, respectively. All these lawyers and the coroner’s counsel are apparently publicly funded.

In my opinion, fairness dictates that public funding should be made available to the deceased’s family for the purpose of retaining legal counsel.

In the Berg case, Jeff’s sister Julie has written the Attorney General and the Solicitor General to request funding assistance, but she has received no response. She has also made a public appeal for help. For more information, see www.justiceforjeff.com.

The Coroner’s Inquest into the death of Jeff Berg has been adjourned to Monday, August 9, 2004. The Inquest is expected to resume at 9:00 a.m. that day with the continuation of the testimony of forensic pathologist Dr. Laurel Gray.

Dr. Gray attributed the cause of death to a “Traumatic Aneurysm Left Carotid Artery and Sequelae due to or as a consequence of A Blow to the Left Side of the Neck”. She found “deep bruising left side of neck, traumatic aneurysm intracranial left carotid artery, cardiac arrest, deep bruise right side of head, cerebral edema, facial abrasions primarily right side and bruised right testicle”. Jeff Berg had no contributory prior medical history and did not have alcohol or drugs in his sytem when he was killed.

Earlier in the Inquest, civilian witness Sari Fujikawa testified: “The officer, still yelling, walked toward the man until he was standing behind him. The officer knocked the man down to the ground with the gun in his right hand. The man still did not move, but only lay on his right side, his back toward the officer. As soon as he was down, the officer kicked the man in the back of the head brutally two times with his right foot. I felt sick, numb, shocked, angry at the same time. The man had not run away from the officer. As soon as he was down, the officer kicked the man in the back of the head brutally two times with his right foot.”

The Coroner’s Inquest is being held in Coroner’s Court, MetroTower II, 20th floor (2035-4720 Kingsway, Burnaby, British Columbia) and typically gets under way at 9:00 a.m. each weekday.

After a hearing arguments in a hearing that was subjected to a publication ban, Coroner Jeannine Robinson indicated that she would not discharge the jury investigating the death of Jeff Berg. David Wu, a civilian eyewitness, took the stand and testified with the assistance of an interpreter. He said he saw a police officer kicking a young man several times while the man was handcuffed and lying motionless in the alley behind Wu’s house.

In another development, the Coroner ruled that she would not direct that the Berg family receive reimbursement foir its legal costs, nor would she write to Attorney General Plant to recommend public funding. Berg family lawyer Cameron Ward had sought funding assistance on the basis of fairness. The Coroner, Coroner’s counsel, the lawyers for the police witnesses, the lawyer for the Vancouver Police Department and the expert witnesses are all paid from the public purse. The Berg family’s legal bill is approaching $90,000.

The inquest continues on Monday, July 5, 2004 with the conclusion of David Wu’s testimony. David Bruce-Thomas, the police constable who arrested Jeff Berg, is scheduled to take the witness stand after that.

The coroner’s inquest is being held in Coroner’s Court, MetroTower II, 20th floor (2035-4720 Kingsway, Burnaby, British Columbia) and typically gets under way at 9:00 a.m. each weekday.

Jeffrey Michael Berg, 37, died on October 24, 2000 of injuries inflicted by VPD Cst. David Bruce-Thomas during the course of an arrest on Sunday, October 22, 2000.

In a sudden development, the coroner’s inquest into the death of Jeff Berg has been adjourned to 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 29, 2004, when lawyers will convene to make submissions respecting a ‘problem’ that has arisen. Berg family lawyer Cameron Ward indicated at the inquest today that the problem related to a letter the jury delivered to the Sheriff, and asked that a copy of the letter be marked as an exhibit. Coroner Jeannine Robinson advised those in attendance that the letter will be marked as an exhibit when the inquest reconvenes on Tuesday to consider counsel’s submissions on the matter.

The coroner’s inquest is being held in Coroner’s Court, MetroTower II, 20th floor (2035-4720 Kingsway, Burnaby, British Columbia)

Jeffrey Michael Berg, 37, died on October 24, 2000 of injuries inflicted by VPD Cst. David Bruce-Thomas during the course of an arrest on Sunday, October 22, 2000.

In a judgment released June 24, 2004, Provincial Court Judge D. I. Smyth has dismissed and stayed all charges against our client Murray Bush arising from an incident that occurred on October 3, 2002. Mr. Bush was photographing a public demonstration against Premier Gordon Campbell’s visit to the Britannia Community Centre when he was handcuffed and taken into custody.

Mr. Bush was taken by a paddy wagon to a Canadian Tire store parking lot where, in a situation eerily similar to the Stanley Park police beatings a few months later, a group of up to 40 uniformed VPD police officers opened the doors and threatened Mr. Bush with violence. He was then driven to the Vancouver Jail and subjected to a humiliating strip-search. Mr. Bush made eight or more requests to call a lawyer, all of which were ignored. Despite the fact that he had no criminal record, that he had cooperated fully with the police, and that court officials were available to release him on conditions, Mr. Bush was held in the Vancouver Jail for over 26 hours.

After hearing the evidence in the 20 day trial, Judge Smyth concluded that the police conduct so seriously violated Mr. Bush’s constitutional rights that two of the charges must be stayed. A third was dismissed as unproven.

The Judge had harsh words for the custodians of the jail. He concluded his reasons with the observation that “the evidence suggests an unfortunate failure at the Vancouver Jail, or simply reluctance, to bring the practice of strip-searching …and the practice concerning the release of prisoners into conformity with [the law]”.

It would seem that those entrusted with a duty to uphold the law have been routinely violating it.

Read Judge Smyth’s decision.