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.

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.