Monthly Archives: September 2016

September 27, 2016

Charges against RCMP Constable Ace Stewart in Killing of Five-Year-Old James McIntosh

By killercopscanada

In a rare instance in the Canadian state context, charges have been brought against RCMP Constable Ace Jimmy Stewart for the killing of five-year-old James McIntosh in Penticton, British Columbia on September 15, 2015. The charges come following an investigation by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), the agency tasked with examining all cases of police harm to civilians in the province, almost a year after James McIntosh was killed. Constable Stewart struck James McIntosh with his vehicle while the child was riding his bike in an intersection along with his father and brother. The officer was off duty at the time. Constable Stewart has been charged with driving without due care and attention, under the Motor Vehicle Act. His first court appearance is scheduled to for October 12, 2016 in Penticton.

While the laying of charges is welcomed by many, and represents an almost unheard of decision in cases of police killings of civilians in Canada, it does not mean a conviction will follow, despite the evidence, as the recent acquittal of killer cop Remo Romano in Ontario shows. It may be the charges came in this case because a child was involved or because the officer was off duty (and thus the force can distance this killing from the formal policing role).

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in British Columbia, Deaths, IIO, Killer Cops, Killings by Cops, Oversight, RCMP, Uncategorized

September 23, 2016

Killer Cop Remo Romano Acquitted in Killing of Teenager Natasha Carla Abogado

By killercopscanada

It is extremely rare in the Canadian state context for a police officer who kills a civilian to face charges. Even where charges are pursued in court killer cops are almost never found guilty by the system they uphold, protect, and service. The verdict in the case of York Regional Police officer Remo Romano who killed pedestrian Natasha Carla Abogado (18) on the evening of February 12, 2014 while speeding offers yet another sad case in point. On September 2, 2016 a jury declared Romano not guilty of dangerous driving causing death. Their decision came after seven hours of deliberations.

 

The Killing of Carla Abogado by Remo Romano

Detective-Constable Remo Romano (44) was driving an unmarked pickup truck at an incredible speed of 115 km/h, nearly double the 60 km/h speed limit, when he struck Abogado, killing her. The young victim was thrown approximately 80 meters and was declared dead on the scene in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. Notably, Constable Romano did not have his sirens or lights activated (Yuen 2016a). At the time he hit and killed Abogado, Romano was part of a surveillance team, Project Litterbox, investigating a series of non-violent commercial break-ins involving major Canadian capitalist enterprises such as Shopper’s Drug Mart, according to details provided to the jury (Hasham 2016). They were said to be stealing…perfume (Mandel 2016). Far from being a threat or crucial pursuit situation, Romano had simply fallen behind the other officers in his team and was speeding to catch up to them when he struck Abogado who had just gotten off a bus on her way home.

Crown prosecutor Perlmutter informed the jury that the surveillance operation Romano was involved in at the time he killed Abogado was only involved in intelligence gathering and was by no means dangerous nor urgent (Hasham 2016). Certainly it was not a matter of life and death urgency that he catch up with his team (or he might not have been so lax in falling behind in the first place). According to Perlmutter: “(He was) not entitled to drive at those speeds, to put himself in position where he did not have the time and space to respond to a jaywalker. This did not justify the risk to the public” (quoted in Hasham 2016). And we might stress again that this was an operation in which the police were providing essentially private security services for Canadian capital. Revealing once more that essential and unwavering connection.

The Crown’s collision reconstruction expert informed the court that a car going more than 80 km/h would likely have hit Abogado but at a slower speed, that car could have been able to stop or swerve to avoid impact instead. It was also noted that anyone jaywalking would have estimating oncoming vehicles traveling at the speed limit of 60 km/h (Hasham 2016).

 

Blaming the Victim

Romano cynically blamed the victim on the stand stating: “She made the choice to step out in front of my vehicle” (quoted in Yuen 2016a). An incredibly callous and self-serving assertion.

Defense lawyer Bill MacKenzie also blamed the victim for jaywalking rather than using a crosswalk. He cynically called the killing a “tragic accident” and went on to blame her clothing choice (quoted in Hasham 2016). Even more MacKenzie used the old ploy of tempting a jury to feel sorry for an officer who would be disgraced by being convicted. He further suggested that there is a disjuncture between the identity of officer and the identity of criminal as if the two are mutually exclusive. And he slyly suggested to the jury that they did not want to be responsible for effecting such an outcome for a supposed community servant. In his words: “At what speed does he go from being a police officer serving his community to a convicted criminal?” (quoted in Hasham 2016).

Constable Romano suffered panic attacks and was prescribed the anti-anxiety medication later found in his bag at the site of the crash (Mandel 2016). He claimed it was “just there for security” and insisted he had not taken any the night of the crash (Mandel 2016).

 

A Family Devastated

This decision comes in Romano’s second trial. At an earlier trial in May, a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict following two days of deliberations (Hasham 2016). Abogado’s family, who sat through both trials left the courtroom without common following the September verdict.

Carla Abogado’s father, Guillermo Abogado, expresses only disappointment with the verdict that has left the family further devastated. He worries for what the decision will men for other victims’ families as well. In his words:

“My whole family was very upset, we were expecting a guilty verdict. From Day 1 until now, it’s very hard for us. The jury are allowing the police officers to use 115 km/h on a busy street, near a hospital and subway station. I hope they have a conscience because it may happen again now. They’ve set a precedent. They’re allowing every police officer to do it again.” (quoted in Yuen 2016b).

The dissatisfaction with the court system is echoed by Paula Abogado, Carla’s sixteen-year- old younger sister. From her perspective: “With this, we were trying to find a little bit of closure, but now what are we going to get out of this? Every time there’s a trial we always get a reminder and it just brings us back to this place where we have no time to heal” (quoted in Yuen 2016b). Sadly this is the disappointing outcome experienced by almost all families of victims of police violence in Canada who expect justice through the court system.

Guillermo Abogado noted the difficulties and frustrations that families face when the killer of their loved one is a police officer. As he reflects, painfully: “We’re fighting a police officer, they have lots of support. I felt it was scripted. He faced the jury and was crying to get the sympathy of the jury. Maybe they felt it worked last time, so they’ll do it again” (quoted in Yuen 2016b). History in such cases in the Canadian context shows they do.

The Abogado family is also pursuing a $2.2 million civil suit against the York Regional Police.

 

Conclusion

The verdict while not shocking given the historic lack of accountability for police officers who kill civilians did seem to skirt all reason. As the Crown prosecutor Philip Perlmutter laid out, Romano ignored the obvious and foreseeable risks of driving at such speeds through a residential area with both a seniors’ center and bus stop en route (Hasham 2016). According to Perlmutter: “(Abogado) died on account of a fatal combination of Mr. Romano’s excessive speed and lack of attention” (quoted in Hasham 2016). In support of business interests. And once again a killer cop is let off the hook despite what logic dictates.

 

Further Reading

Hasham, Alysha. 2016. “York Cop Acquitted in 2014 Death of Jaywalker.” Toronto Star. September 21. https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2016/09/21/york-cop-acquitted-in-2014-death-of-jaywalker.html

Mandel, Michele. 2016. “Just who is York Cop Crying for? Blames Jaywalker for Her Own Death.” Toronto Sun. September 15. http://www.torontosun.com/2016/09/15/just-who-is-york-cop-crying-for-blames-jaywalker-for-her-own-death

Yuen, Jenny. 2016a. “York Cop Acquitted in Jaywalker’s Death.” Toronto Sun. September 21. http://www.torontosun.com/2016/09/21/york-cop-acquitted-in-jaywalkers-death

Yuen, Jenny. 2016b. “York Cop’s Acquittal in Death Devastates Pedestrian’s Family.” Toronto Sun. September 22. http://www.torontosun.com/2016/09/22/york-cops-acquittal-in-death-devastates-pedestrians-family

 

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Court Cases, Killer Cops, Killings by Cops, Ontario, Toronto, Uncategorized

September 16, 2016

Woman Killed in Crash during Pursuit by Winnipeg Police

By killercopscanada

A woman has been killed when the van she was a passenger in collided with a pickup truck and rolled over during pursuit by Winnipeg police on Boyd Avenue near Sinclair Street in the Burrow’s neighborhood. The crash occurred on September 13, 2016. The victim was one of five people, including another woman, two men, one of whom was the driver, and a 17-year-old boy, who were in the silver van that crashed following initiation of police pursuit. The four other occupants of the van are in stable condition in local hospital. The driver of the pickup truck was also in hospital in stable condition.

According to Winnipeg police spokesperson Constable Rob Carver, whose statements have not been independently confirmed: “The incident appears to have started when a general patrol unit in the area observed the vehicle with five individuals in it and decided that there was a reason to initiate a traffic stop. Overhead lights were activated and … the vehicle immediately fled and collided with the half-ton” (quoted in CBC News 2016). Curiously Carver went on to suggest that “[w]hile it is a pursuit by a technical definition, we did not actually apparently pursue the vehicle” (quoted in CBC News 2016). However, a short pursuit is still actually apparently a pursuit nonetheless. And in this case one with fatal consequences. No other details have been released by police or independent witnesses. Police have not revealed why they decided to pursue the vehicle in the first place.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which examines all incidents of harm to civilians by on-duty and off-duty officers in Manitoba, is investigating this incident which resulted in the death of the woman passenger. The victim has not yet been named publicly.

 

Further Reading

CBC News. 2016. “Woman Dead after Van Fleeing Officers Crashes, Winnipeg Police Say.” CBC News. September 13. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/boyd-sinclair-crash-winnipeg-1.3760853

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Deaths, IIU, Manitoba, Uncategorized, Winnipeg

September 9, 2016

Constable Montsion’s Somali-Canadian Problem: The Killing of Abdirahman Abdi

By killercopscanada

Constable Daniel Montsion is one of the Ottawa Police Service officers who killed Abdirahman Abdi, a Somali-Canadian man well known and cared for in his neighborhood. Numerous witnesses to the police killing of Abdi have reported that the officers involved over-reacted with extreme violence against the man despite appeals from neighbors not to hurt the man who struggled with mental health issues which neighbors were aware of. So it is rather disturbing to find out that Constable Montsion was policing a neighborhood of Somali migrants despite having previously, by his own admission, “panicked” during a violent takedown of another Somali-Canadian man in the city.

News of this previous incident of panic in the presence of a Somali-Canadian man was released as part of a court decision acquitting Abdullah Adoyta, (25) on gun charges following an arrest by Montsion. Notably, the judge in that case raised concerns about the reliability of Constable Montsion’s sworn testimony regarding the 2014 police raid that resulted in the arrest of Adoyta. Ontario Superior Court Justice Marc Labrosse noted that Montsion’s story conflicted both with Adoyta’s account and with the testimony of a senior officer on key points (Dimmock 2016).

During the raid and arrest of Adotya, Montsion was one of seven Ottawa police officers to attend the apartment on a raid of supposed gang members. Montsion reported grabbing Adotya’s forearms, raising them up. He claimed that as he did so the man’s raised shirt revealed the silver grip of a semi-automatic handgun. In response to this Montsion said he “sort of panicked” and began kneeing the young man while taking him to ground on the floor of the apartment. Montsion said that in this he did not see the gun fall out and only found it after moving the man while on the floor. He specifically said that he saw the gun only after the man was in handcuffs.

Judge Labrosse did not accept Montsion’s stated version of events. On one hand, his story conflicted with the testimony provided by Sergeant Mark MacMillan. MacMillan reported grabbing the gun before Adoyta had been arrested. Notably MacMillan said that he was so fearful for officer safety that he grabbed the gun with bare hands rather than use gloves to preserve DNA and fingerprint evidence (Dimmock 2016). The judge rejected this also not accepting that officer safety in that case overrode the necessity to preserve evidence.

Even more, Labrosse found that the “manner in which (Adoyta) was taken down, with Const. Montsion raising Mr. Adoyta’s arms in the air and seeing the handgun in Mr. Adoyta’s waistline is difficult to both understand and accept” (quoted in Dimmock 2016). The judge found further that Montsion and MacMillan provided opposed views of the takedown of Adotya. While Montsion claimed a struggle, MacMillan suggested there was none, even telling the court that Montsion held the handgun casually. According to Labrosss: “This is inconsistent with the evidence that Const. Montsion was struggling with Mr. Adoyta” (quoted in Dimmock 2016).

Judge Labrosse concluded as well that Montsion had confused the large, silver Gucci belt buckle worn by Adoyta with a pistol grip. While Montsion claimed he saw a silver grip the grip of the gun provided by police was actually black. Montsion made no mention of a belt buckle.

For his part Adoyta reported that he did not reside in the apartment targeted by police but had merely been invited there by a tenant. He said that he complied with police but was grabbed by Montsion and knocked to the side of a couch. The officer yelled “gun” around ten seconds later and then started kneeing and punching him. It was only then, wth Montsion pulling his hair, that Adoyta saw a gun on the floor some foot and a half away from him (Dimmock 2016). He reported a real need to protect himself from Montsion, not resisting arrest.

Labrosse noted that Adoyta had not seen a gun on the floor before the police entered. Adotya did not suggest that the gun was planted by police. He did ask police to do a fingerprint test to show his innocence with regard to possession of the gun.

Others might wish to ask such a question of planted “evidence.” So too will people have to decide whether to ask about the circumstances of panic in Constable Montsion’s aggressive arrests of two Somali-Canadian men and what role racism or anti-Somali sentiment might have played in his behavior toward those men.

Constable Montsion is currently under investigation by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the oversight agency that investigates incidents of police harm to civilians in Ontario. Constable Dave Weir is also under investigation in the killing of Abdirahman Abdi.

 

Further Reading

Dimmock, Gary. 2016. “Cop in Abdi Case Involved in Previous Violent Arrest of Somali-Canadian.” The Sun. September 8. http://cnews.canoe.com/CNEWS/Canada/2016/09/08/22665311.html

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in #JusticeForAbdirahman, Black Lives Matter, Deaths, Killer Cops, Killings by Cops, Mental Health, Ontario, Ottawa, SIU, Uncategorized

September 7, 2016

Ending Illusions of Independence: IIO Director Steps Down and Calls for More Police Involvement

By killercopscanada

The problems of oversight of police in Canada have been consistently observed in every oversight agency in the country. Perhaps nowhere have these problems, and the limitations of institutional oversight structures in the Canadian context been more clearly revealed in a short period of time than in the example of the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) in British Columbia. Less than four years in existence the agency, founded in direct response to the infamous killing by police of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport in 2007, in a case in which police lied about the killing until civilian video surfaced, has been beset by a range of troubles. These include a lack of capacity even to get police to file reports on time or refrain from watching news reports before filing reports, to the involvement of officers at the Justice Institute of British Columbia in training investigators to investigate police. All of this calls into question the independence, authority, and competence of the IIO and leaves victims and their families, as well as social commentators, questioning the organization.

Now the exiting director is, incredibly, calling for more, not less police involvement in and direction of the organization. The embattled director of the provincial oversight body, Richard Rosenthal, announced in September 2016 that he is leaving his position four months before his term ends, effective September 7. Rosenthal was appointed as the civilian director of the IIO with its founding in 2012. On his way out the door he has given a gift to police, and perhaps another nail in the IIO coffin as far as independence is concerned.

 

Curious Claims: Calling for More Cops

In particular Rosenthal has argued for greater discretion in the hiring of former police officers. Currently the IIO is restricted from hiring any person who has been a police force member in BC within the last five years. Rosenthal wants that restriction abolished (Rosenthal 2016). This has not prohibited the IIO from being trained by officers at the JIBC or hiring officers from outside the province. Without explanation, or regard for the implications of having officers investigating their friends and colleagues, Rosenthal suggests that former officers are the only means by which to provide training to civilians. This is a curious claim to say the least for someone who is leaving the IIO to study for his PhD in criminology. Surely there are many criminologists and forensic scientists who could train civilian investigators. Rosenthal’s claim speaks to the dependence on and over-regard for police exemplified in the IIO.

Rosenthal has also argued that the IIO director needs more discretion in choosing what cases to take to investigation. Right now the IIO mandate calls for investigation of all events in which death or serious injury is caused by a police officer. This means that the investigation delivers the assessment of officer culpability (though officers are virtually never found culpable or responsible regardless of the circumstances or evidence). More discretion would lead to cases being overlooked or not being pursued, even where an investigation might well be warranted. This is particularly so if Rosenthal’s other recommendation for more officer involvement in the agency were followed.

The issue of hiring former police to the supposedly civilian agency is not strictly academic. It has been a point of contention in the history of the IIO. Indeed, in 2015 the IIO was investigated for allegations of bullying and harassment related to the agency’s hiring of former officers (Meuse 2016). As a result 17 investigators and five non-investigative staff exited the IIO within only its first 28 months of operation (Meuse 2016).

Rosenthal as struggled to explain this. Upon leaving he has suggested:

“At the beginning, we were having challenges. We did not have alignment in vision and values of the organization. And unfortunately when you’re the leader of the organization, you take heat from people who don’t share that vision and who need to leave. [But] the good news is that now we are in a place where we have a strong executive that understands the importance of independence.” (quoted in Meuse 2016)

Yet this so-called independence has never been a hallmark of the IIO. Since the beginning of operations in 2012, the IIO has worked under a memorandum of understanding drafted in consultation with police chiefs from across British Columbia (Meuse 2016). Strangely, while suggesting a respect for independence Rosenthal has claimed that “the document has been excellent in allowing the IIO to work collaboratively with police forces” (Meuse 2016). The question always remains, “Can an independent body simultaneously be a collaborator?”

 

Comply or..Well, Nothing

One problem remains that there is no actual mechanism to compel police to respect IIO authority or act according to the needs and demands of the investigation rather than the interests of police forces and associations. As in other oversight agencies in Canada, police in BC are able to obstruct, ignore, interfere with, or disregard investigators and investigations. A recent IIO report itself has concluded that police routinely refuse to file reports in a timely manner after an incident of harm to civilians and often do so only after watching news reports. According to Rosenthal: “That’s not happening, on a systemic basis. It’s a huge problem as far as ensuring the integrity of investigations. We need the government to step up and create regulations in order to ensure that we’re able to do our job in an effective manner” (quoted in Meuse 2016).

 

Conclusion

None of this will be secured by having more police involved in the agency. Rosenthal’s statements, really an appeal for police involvement and the end of even limited “independence,” upon leaving should be a warning sign for all families and friends of victims who are seeking answers or some accountability and for all civilians in British Columbia. Particularly in a context in which police killings of civilians are increasing in the province.

 

Further Reading

Meuse, Matt. 2016. “IIO Director Richard Rosenthal Steps Down 4 Months Early.” CBC News. September 6. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/richard-rosenthal-steps-down-1.3748640

Rosenthal, Richard. 2016. “Exclusive Op-Ed: Outgoing Head of B.C.’s Civilian-Led Police Watchdog Asks for More Support.” Terrace Standard. September 2. http://www.terracestandard.com/opinion/392187931.html

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in British Columbia, IIO, Oversight, Uncategorized

September 1, 2016

IIO Report Documents Police Contempt for Oversight Agencies

By killercopscanada

The problems with oversight of police, and investigations into police use of force against civilians are numerous and have been extensively documented and discussed within this project. Indeed even state bodies such as the Ombudsperson of Ontario have found, documented, and reported on the failings of police oversight agencies and practices. In addition to repeated counts of interference with and obstruction of investigations and harassment of investigators by officers and police associations, one of the recurring issues has been the lack of cooperation with investigations by officer and the withholding of required information by officers in investigations.

A new report by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of British Columbia, released publicly on August 31, 2016, highlights the dubious behavior of officers of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) during an investigation into the shooting and killing of a man who reportedly stabbed several people on a downtown street. The IIO investigators specifically criticized police for failing to file timely written reports of critical incidents immediately after the incident occurred. In addition the report noted that officer accounts were tainted not only by delays but by their having watched television reports of the incident before filing their accounts. The IIO concluded that these problems were “widespread” among officer in British Columbia.

 

Officers Fail to Comply

The IIO noted the significance of timely accounts following police use of force. In the words of the IIO release: “Such reports are essential to ensure the integrity of criminal and administrative investigations and reviews of officer decisions to use deadly force or force likely to cause significant injury” (quoted in CBC News 2016). On the matter of police viewing of news media stories about the incident they were involved in the IIO concluded: “As such, the statements of these officers were impacted by evidence separate and apart from their own recollections and memories of the events” (quoted in CBC News 2016). In this case the IIO had to rely on the memories of civilian witnesses (who may or may not have felt intimidated by police).

 

No Accountability

It is notable that while the IIO report was highly critical of the actions of two officers involved in the killing and their failure to write up reports immediately and without media influence, the IIO cleared the officers of wrongdoing. This is an all too familiar contradiction in police oversight and shows the limits (virtual non-existence) of current oversight practices and agencies.

Significantly, the IIO investigators reported that the failure to file a timely report was not an isolated incident limited to the VPD. In fact it is identifiable practice in other forces, including, most notably, the RCMP, the force that provides provincial policing and municipal policing services in many municipalities across the province (in addition to being the federal force). According to the IIO report:

“The IIO has become aware of a pattern of problems with respect to subject officers involved in critical incidents in British Columbia failing to prepare timely duty to accounts or notes of their involvement in incidents. These problems have been identified with respect to multiple files involving not just the Vancouver Police Department, but also the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and two other municipal police agencies.” (quoted in CBC News 2016)

It is a problem of police oversight and investigations into police harm of civilians that there are few mechanisms to compel police to comply and act in the mannered required by the investigation. These could be, but are not, treated as chargeable offenses. Furthermore, it is a problem that the filing of reports in a timely manner, and under specified conditions are not viewed as part of the incident of harm in question but as separate, discreet moments. The result is that wrongdoing as identified in the IIO report are not considered when assessing whether or not police engaged in wrongdoing when harming someone. The filing of reports, etc. should be considered as part of the incident and considered when assessing the actions of police over the course of the incident of harm under consideration.

 

Conclusion

Incredibly, while not finding against the officers involved, the IIO has taken the atypical step of moving to file its own complaint with the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner about police actions. There is little reason to believe that this step will result in anything approaching accountability for the officers involved. It is also telling that the IIO has not named the officers involved in such obstruction publicly. It is also perhaps ironic that forces that have adopted a “comply or die” approach to policing on a customary basis, resulting in much taking of civilian lives in the province, are so cavalier i.e. non-compliant) about complying with investigations when it affects them as respondents.

 

Further Reading

CBC News. 2016. “Investigation into Police Shooting Raises Concerns.” CBC News. August 31. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/investigation-into-police-shooting-raises-concerns-1.3743227

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in British Columbia, Deaths, IIO, Killer Cops, Killings by Cops, Oversight, Uncategorized, Vancouver, VPD

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