In the April 23 Citizen, there are two articles that seem to show that there is a difference about how justice is done in Vancouver and Prince George.
One article is about Mr. Dziekanski's case in Vancouver, where four police officers are facing serious criminal charges for lying about the Tasering to death of this Polish immigrant.
The other article is about the Independent Investigation Office and the incident involving Mr. Gregory Matters, a veteran of the Canadian Army suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, was killed by two rifle shots to his back as he was walking from four RCMP members of a special response team, who had showed up on his rural property near Prince George.
In the Prince George case, it was found that there was no criminal wrongdoing by the police, despite the fact that he was shot while his back was turned. What a difference 500 miles makes regarding how justice is done.
Mrs. Dziekanski was given a large sum of money for the loss of her son, while Mrs. Matters was roughed up and jailed for seven hours and released with no charges, to find out her son had been killed. She received nothing but was stuck with a large bill for a lawyer she hired to represent her so some true facts about this case could come to light in the lengthy coroner's inquest. She also had the expense of a funeral for her son, a person who served in the Canadian Army for 12 years and never had a conviction of any violent crime.
Supt. Eric Stubbs, who was in charge of the team that saw Matters killed, had now been promoted and transferred to Ottawa, while former RCMP officer Mike Morris has been appointed to head a committee to review the Independent Investigation Office.
I wonder if a former police officer can be unbiased when looking at an organization that is supposed to give rulings on RCMP actions?
Svend Serup
Prince George
