Jurors heard dramatic testimony from a civilian eyewitness as the inquest into the death of Jeff Berg ended its first week. Sari Fujikawa choked back tears as she described how a uniformed police officer walked up behind Berg, struck him in the head or neck with his service weapon, knocking him to the ground, and then kicked his motionless body twice in the head. The officer then dragged Berg’s lifeless body across the alley “like a rag doll”. Ms. Fujikawa, the daughter of a Buddhist minister who lived near the scene, told her friends and family about the incident, but the police did not contact her for a statement. She came forward after seeing a poster seeking witnesses to the incident that had been posted by Berg’s sister Julie.

The jury heard that Berg was one of four men found in a car behind 4870 Slocan Street in Vancouver at about 9:45 p.m. on Sunday, October 22, 2004. The house had been the site of a marijuana grow operation and had been raided by police a few months earlier. Cst. Bruce-Thomas, a race car driver in his spare time, rammed the vehicle and smashed it into a nearby garage. After Berg got out, he sustained serious injuries and later died in hospital. Berg, 37, had no prior criminal record, no previous medical problems and had not consumed any alcohol or drugs immediately before he was killed.

Earlier in the week, the five inquest jurors heard testimony from the lead VPD homicide investigator on the file. Det. Phil Little confirmed Berg was unarmed and that Bruce-Thomas reported no injuries to himself: no scratches or bruises of any kind. Little said that he did not interview any police witnesses, inviting them to send him written statements instead. He did not immediately seize Bruce-Thomas’ boots, weapon or clothing for lab testing. He submitted a Report to Crown Counsel 14 months after the incident. As a result of Det. Little’s homicide investigation into the actions of his VPD colleague (an investigation described by former Crown Counsel Dana Urban, Q.C. as “incompetent at best”), no charges were laid.

Although the three people in the car with Berg that night were charged with offences, all the charges were dropped before trial. No evidence about the events of that evening ever came out in court.

In other developments, attempts by Berg family lawyer Cameron Ward to file various witness statements in evidence were rebuffed. When Coroner’s Counsel John Bethel sought to file statements from the the occupants of 4870 Slocan, the statements were made exhibits over Mr. Ward’s objections, on the basis that the makers of the statements could no longer be found. One of these people, Mo Thi Le, had been arrested and charged a few months before the break-in as a result of a police raid that netted over 22,000 grams of marijuana. Le did not ever stand trial. No explanation was offered as to what attempts were made to find the seven-member Le family so some of them could testify at the inquest, or how these seven people could have vanished without a trace.

At one point, Coroner Jeannine Robinson described the exchanges between lawyers as a “catfight”. Bill Smart is the lawyer for David Bruce-Thomas, Kevin Woodall represents all other VPD officers who may be witnesses and Catherine Kinahan is counsel for the VPD. Coroner Robinson conducted the inquiry into the death of Frank Joseph Paul, an aboriginal man who died of hypothermia after being dumped in an alley by Vancouver police. She classified the death as “accidental” and declined to hold an inquest in that case.

By a vote of 52.7% to 46.1%, the members of the Law Society of British Columbia have voted to make Canadian Bar Association membership fees voluntary for 2005, ending some fifty years of compelled payments. New Brunswick is now the only Canadian jurisdiction that forces lawyers to pay the CBA.

The CBA, a national advocacy group based in Ottawa, had opposed both the holding of the referendum and the concept of voluntary fees. It made $200,000 available from its national and provincial budgets to campaign against voluntariness.

For more information, see the Law Society’s website.

The Law Society of British Columbia has circulated ballots to its members on a referendum concerning the fixing of practice fees. Lawyers who want to have freedom to choose whether to join the Canadian Bar Association should vote for Resolution B.

For Mr. Ward’s position on the referendum, see “Tradition or Free Choice?“, recently published by BarTalk:

For more from the Law Society, see the Law Society of British Columbia website.

A date has finally been set for the Coroner’s Inquest in the case of Jeffrey Michael Berg, 37, who died on October 24, 2000, after being arrested by Vancouver Police Constable David Bruce-Thomas. The Inquest will begin on June 23, 2004 at Coroner’s Court, Suite 2035, 4720 Kingsway, Burnaby.

Jeff Berg died as a result of a blow to the neck. Although Bruce-Thomas kicked him several times during the course of the arrest, a homicide investigation conducted by Bruce-Thomas’ VPD colleagues resulted in a decision not to lay any charges. An internal investigation conducted by other VPD colleagues also cleared the constable. The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner concluded that the two VPD investigations were inadequate and has recently requested that the RCMP conduct a re-investigation into the fatal incident. The Berg family has not heard from the RCMP and has no idea of the status of that re-investigation.

Lawyers for the Berg family applied to the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Friday, June 4, 2004 to seek unconditional disclosure of copies of the coroner’s records relating to the hearing. Mr. Justice Tysoe dismissed the application. As a result, the Berg family has reluctantly accepted the Coroner’s strict conditions of confidentiality and has finally obtained copies of the documents. They plan to seek funding assistance from the Coroner so they can have their lawyers participating in the three week hearing.

In a related development, the Berg family has been requesting a meeting with Regional Crown Counsel to review the Crown’s 2002 decision not to lay charges against Bruce-Thomas. Crown Counsel, who routinely work with the VPD on major cases, has refused the family’s request.

According to a report in The Lawyers Weekly of March 26, 2004, the Benchers of the Law Society of British Columbia have postponed debate on the form of the practice fee referendum on the subject of CBA payments. “[CBABC President Robert] Brun asked that the vote be adjourned to give the CBA more time to consider the wording of the questions”, according to the report.

How hard can it be to consider and settle on a question to the membership on this issue? Is the CBA seeking to stymie a vote on whether lawyers in B.C. should continue to be forced to pay fees to the CBA, as it did in New Brunswick a few years ago? Stay tuned. The next Benchers’ meeting is April 2, 2004.