Nearly two years after he was killed by a police bullet in October of 2005, the mandatory coroner’s inquest into the death of Ian Bush, 22, is set to begin tomorrow in Houston, BC. Here’s what I posted on this tragic case many months ago:

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Much has been said and written about the case of Ian Bush, the unarmed 22 year old who was killed by an RCMP officer in Houston, B.C. last October, so I’m reluctant to add more. However, no one can doubt that the RCMP officer received benefits that no ordinary citizen in the same position would have. Imagine anyone else intentionally shooting an unarmed person in the back of the head and not even being arrested, let alone charged! Anyone but a police officer asserting that he shot an unarmed man in self defence would be told, “tell it to the judge at your trial”.

The decision not to subject the RCMP officer to the justice system is no surprise, just as it’s no surprise that the police say that the video camera in the RCMP office where the shooting occurred wasn’t working, just as it’s no surprise that it took the RCMP many months to investigate such a straightforward matter, just as it will be no surprise to learn eventually that the RCMP officer wasn’t interviewed by RCMP investigators at the scene but rather had an opportunity to prepare a typewritten statement at his leisure with the help of his lawyer.

A coroner’s inquest, which is a fact-finding, not a fault-finding exercise, could have and should have been held months ago. However, the Chief Coroner, former RCMP Deputy Superintendent Terry Smith, has an unwritten policy that inquests are deferred until after criminal investigations have been completed. This is in keeping with the BC Coroners Service’s deferential attitude to the police, an attitude that extends to allowing the police to investigate their own, to take as long as they want doing it and to ensure that the officer under investigation gets every opportunity to create a plausible-sounding excuse.

The families of victims just want a justice system that treats everybody equally, that operates without fear or favour. Surely they are entitled to that.

Here are two simple suggestions:

1) Establish an independent agency to investigate cases of police-involved death or serious injury (like Ontario’s SIU, and as a BC coroner’s jury recommended in 2004);

2) Hold coroner’s inquests into police-involved deaths right away (like other jurisdictions-this week, a Wisconsin jury conducted an inquest into the death of Nicholas Cyrus, 29, who died after being Tasered by police on July 9, 2006)

The BC system needs reform, and it needs it now, before this province becomes a laughingstock.

Patrick D. Wagans, 42, of Valleyview, Ohio died on May 16th after being Tasered by police, thus becoming the 26th such North American fatality this year. More than 260 people have died after being shocked by the Taser weapon’s 50,000 volt output. Law enforcement officials generally attribute these deaths to so-called “excited delerium”, which is not a recognised medical condition. The controversy continues as, on average, more than one American dies every week after being Tasered.

Much has been said and written about the weaknesses of the civil justice system in this province. However, there’s nothing like being a litigant to make one realize that there has to be a better way…

Last Friday, I spent a day with the lawyers for two taxpayer-funded public institutions (the City of Vancouver and Province of British Columbia) quibbling over the amounts I was entitled to as costs after winning my personal civil case against them for violations of my constitutional rights back in 2002.

The chorus from a Social Distortion song kept running through my head:

“Yeah, yeah yeah…I’m chasing nickels and dimes

While the rest of the world passes me by

Nah, nah, nah… I’m just wasting my time

I’m just sitting here and wondering why”

M. Ness/Rebel Waltz Music (ASCAP) and J. Wickersham/Ogle Street Music (BMI)

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I wish I could report that the case is wrapped up. However, a full day was not enough to deal with my Bill of Costs, so we will all have to return for a further day’s hearing (at least) in about a month. As well, the Province appealed the trial judgment, so I will have to wait many more months before this is finally over.

To recap, on August 2, 2002, several Vancouver police officers handcuffed me and transported me to the Vancouver Jail, where I was strip-searched and imprisoned for the balance of the day. My car was located and impounded as well, but I was never charged with any offence.

All of this happened, according to the Vancouver police, because I “matched the description” of someone who was overheard saying something about throwing a pie at the Prime Minister…no pie was ever thrown by anyone, nor was one found. The Vancouver police refused to apologize for my treatment and even published media reports suggesting they were right to deal with me this way. After a six day civil trial, a BC Supreme Court judge disagreed and awarded me damages.

Revelations emerging from the pre-trial disclosure motion in R. v. Basi et al bring back memories of Liberal MLA Paul Reitsma, who resigned in 1998 after it was revealed that he had penned letters to the editor using the nom de plume of Warren Betanko”, and prompted a series of questions in the legislature today, including this gem:

M. Farnworth: I didn’t mention the term “courthouse.” I didn’t mention the term “trial.” I didn’t even ask if these employees came from the firm of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Dean and Mitchell. What I asked, Hon. Speaker…

There’s a pattern in this government of senior staff misrepresenting themselves in the public. We’ve seen it with Prem Vinning, we’ve seen it with the Deputy Premier’s assistant, and now we are asking questions about staff in the Premier’s office.
So my question once again to the Premier is this: can he assure this House, can he assure the taxpayers of British Columbia that senior communications staff in his office are not working on blatant, partisan media manipulation?

All questions in this vein were met with a similar response: “no comment, the matter is before the courts”.

It is more than a bit troubling to this writer that the government of this province may employ people who resort to juvenile tactics to manipulate the media and the public. For more on this, check out thetyee.ca or billtielemanblogspot.com.

It is becoming ubiquitous; the slogan, “The Best Place on Earth” is starting to appear everywhere-on provincial government letterhead, on its website and soon, on special licence plates issued by Olympic sponsor ICBC. How, and more importantly, why, did this happen?

The answer to “how?” is obvious; like most every B.C. government initiative, the change to the provincial motto is undoubtedly due to one of Premier Gordon Campbell’s whims. The answer to “why?” is less evident. What was wrong with “Beautiful British Columbia” as our provincial slogan? It was certainly much better than its offensive, presumptuous and embarrassing replacement. Maybe this is the government’s subtle way of telling us that once Mr. Campbell finishes with the province the old slogan will simply no longer be accurate.

Vanoc head John Furlong (with Premier Campbell) points to the bank balance of the average British Columbian taxpayer once the 2010 Olympic circus leaves town. (But the “Best Place on Earth” licence plates will be a nice parting gift).