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Police Beating 'Shamed' Officer
Pubdate: Wed, 20 Apr 2005
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Vancouver Sun
Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Gerry Bellett
POLICE BEATING 'SHAMED' OFFICER
Constable Says Seeing Other Officers Assault Drug Dealers 'Disgusted' Him
VANCOUVER - A police officer who watched five colleagues assault three drug
dealers in Stanley Park said it made him feel ashamed of the uniform he was
wearing.
Const. Troy Peters was testifying Tuesday at a public hearing called by the
B.C. Police Complaint Commissioner into the conduct of two of the officers,
Gabriel Kojima and Duncan Gemmell, who were fired from the force for their
part in the assaults that took place early in the morning of Jan. 14, 2003.
On Monday, Peters described how the first of the drug dealers, Barry
Lawrie, was let out of a police wagon and pummelled by members of Team Four
- --the officers assigned to patrol the Granville Mall and West End areas.
On Tuesday, he recounted the beatings given Jason Desjardins and Grant
Wilson. All three have been labelled thieves and drug dealers who worked
the Granville area at a time the police were attempting to stop overt drug
dealing from spreading into the area from the Downtown Eastside.
Asked by commission counsel Dana Urban how he felt at the time, Peters
said: "I wasn't happy with it. I was disgusted and ashamed of wearing the
uniform at that point."
After being yelled at by Const. Raymond Gardner, who told Desjardins the
police weren't about to lose control of Granville Street to drug dealers
and that the people there were tired of their activities and the area being
unsafe, Peters said Desjardins received "a flurry" of short, punches from
the five officers.
He fell to the ground and "turtled up" in an effort to protect himself with
his arms covering his head, and knees drawn up to his chest.
The officers then began to deliver short kicks to his body, with Kojima
moving his head from side to side with the inside of his boot much like a
"small child trying to control a soccer ball."
While this was going on the officers were repeatedly yelling at Desjardins
"who owns Granville Street" and he was yelling back "please stop."
The assault lasted less than a minute then Desjardins left the park holding
his side and limping.
The only officers who didn't participate in the assaults were Peters -- who
was still on probation -- and his instructor Const. James Kenney, the
senior officer and acting sergeant. When Wilson was let out of the wagon,
Kenney told Peters that he might "like to take a walk for this one as it's
going to be the worst or ugliest of the three."
Wilson has a notorious reputation among Vancouver police for violence, drug
dealing and property crime and had been warned once that night to leave
Granville Mall.
When he ignored the order he was arrested and "breached" -- removed -- to
Main and Hastings but returned almost immediately. It was this that led to
his being taken to Stanley Park.
Peters was shocked by Kenney's advice and slowly walked back to his police
cruiser, while in the background he could hear Gardner yelling at Wilson
that "he wouldn't listen and that he had no regard for police authority and
it was time he learnt a lesson."
But looking over his shoulder he saw Wilson outside the wagon being struck
on his left leg by a baton held by Kojima, then Wilson fell to the ground.
However, when asked to demonstrate the blow and what force was used, Peters
made it seem more like a tap.
He said he could hear Const. Brandon Steele yelling "who owns Granville
Street" but didn't hear Wilson's reply.
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