Pubdate: Thu, 28 Jul 2005 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2005, The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.globeandmail.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168 Author: William Mbaho Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?236 (Corruption - Outside U.S.) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/stanley+park FIRED OFFICERS LOSE APPEAL VANCOUVER -- Two former Vancouver police officers have lost their appeal against their dismissal from police duty for their attack on three suspected drug dealers in Stanley Park. The adjudicator for the Police Complaints Commission said that serious police misconduct and abuse of trust in the beatings warranted upholding the dismissal of Constables Duncan Gemmell and Gabriel Kojima. Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham formally dismissed the pair from police duty for their misconduct in his own public statement of apology in 2004. Both former officers pleaded guilty in provincial court last year to taking part in the assaults in Stanley Park in January 2003, and were sentenced to month-long terms of house arrest. The two were part of a group of six Vancouver police officers involved in the attack. Four other officers involved, Constables Raymond Gardner, Christopher Cronmiller, Brandon Steele and James Kenney, each received 20-day suspensions. The adjudicator for the Police Complaints Commission echoed Mr. Graham's words in his report published yesterday. "Defenceless members of the public were assaulted without provocation," adjudicator Donald Clancy said. "I find that the misconduct of both of the respondents was such that they are unsuitable for service as police officers. "I regretfully conclude that Constable Gemmell and Constable Kojima must be dismissed. If not, there is a danger that, in the public mind, all police officers will be seen to be permitted to behave inappropriately. . . . The police are not above the law. . . . They must not be seen to be able to act improperly and yet escape suffering the full consequences of their illegal or inappropriate conduct." He said in his report that failure to demand a higher standard of conduct from police officers could lead to an erosion of public confidence in police forces. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin