Police beat man to death outside Grow Op In Canada!

Jeff Berg died from injuries suffered when he was arrested by Vancouver police and his sister says there are other stories such as his.

"My story is not unique, there is a disturbing pattern here that needs to be fixed, and something has to happen to bring change and make us feel as though we are protected," Julie Berg-Wyman told CTV.ca.

Berg-Wyman has formed a coalition that wants to change the way investigations into police misconduct are handled. A rally is being held at the Vancouver Art Gallery this afternoon to highlight the issue.

The Vancouver Police Department has faced allegations of brutality and misconduct in a series of recent high-profile cases.

Earlier this year, six officers were charged in connection with the beatings of three men in Stanley Park. Other allegations of police misconduct emerged after a riot broke out when a Guns N' Roses concert was cancelled last November.

B.C.'s new police complaints commissioner, Dirk Ryneveld, reopened the Frank Paul case after releasing a copy of a police surveillance video in late June. Paul died after he was released from a Vancouver drunk tank.

The tape shows Paul being dragged by his arms out towards an alley. The aboriginal man died hours later of hypothermia after being left in near-freezing temperatures in December 1998.

"I believe they need to be totally overhauled. This is probably one of the most corrupt forces in Canada, I think it makes the LAPD look like saints. They have been operating under, I believe, a corrupt culture for years," Berg-Wyman said.

In her brother's death, the Vancouver police cleared their officers of any wrongdoing following an internal investigation of the October 2000 incident. The department stands by that conclusion, but Ryneveld ordered a public hearing in June.

Ryneveld said the VPD investigation may have been flawed when he ordered the hearing. He cited conflicting testimony and said witnesses should be questioned while under oath and subject to cross-examination.

An autopsy concluded Berg died from an aneurysm that was brought on by a blow to the neck. On the night of his arrest, police stopped Berg outside a marijuana grow operation.

The VPD told Berg-Wyman that her brother had resisted arrested. She believed there was a cover-up and hired two private investigators who tracked down witnesses, including one who had videotaped part of the incident.

"He was gun-butted to the head, then kicked twice in the head like a soccer ball and then dragged on the pavement. That was unnecessary -- so he died a violent death," Berg-Wyman said.

Const. Sarah Bloor said the VPD was satisfied with the result of their investigation, adding that it was sent to Crown counsel and came back with no charge. She said the department would co-operate fully with any public hearing process.

"On the rally itself, the Vancouver Police Department certainly realizes that it is everyone's right to publicly state their opinion. We are aware of the situation. We will have a police presence, as we would for any demonstration that would occur in the city," she said.

A petition requesting a judicial inquiry into the practice of police investigating themselves will be circulated at the rally. Berg-Wyman believes an independent body should be in charge of such investigations.

Mounties to probe VPD abuse allegations

Adrienne Tanner and Ian Austin
The Province (Vancouver)
Tuesday, July 08, 2003

The RCMP will investigate a stack of 50 complaints of misconduct against Vancouver police in the Downtown Eastside.

The complaints accuse police of breaking bones, illegal searches-and-seizures and hosting "starlight tours" in which suspects are picked up and dumped far from home.

In addition to complaints by the Pivot Legal Society, police have recently been accused of covering up two internal investigations into police-related deaths.

The cases of Jeff Berg, who died of injuries during an arrest, and Frank Paul, who died of exposure after police dumped him soaking wet in an alley, were reopened by the police-complaint commissioner this summer.

Among the Pivot complainants are:

- Jose Cardona, who lost a testicle after allegedly being kneed in the groin by an officer on March 25.

- David Morales, who alleges police ordered him out of downtown, dumped him in Kitsilano and broke his nose when he returned.

- Fausto Portillo, who claims he was beaten unconscious in police cells.

They were forwarded to the complaint commissioner last month along with a call for a public inquiry by Pivot, a Vancouver legal-reform advocacy group. Pivot, which compiled the complaints, also requested that Vancouver police not be allowed to conduct the investigations themselves.

Complaint commissioner Dirk Ryneveld said the allegations of "systemic abuse" against residents in the Downtown Eastside influenced his decision.

"I deemed that in order to preserve public confidence in the complaint process, it had to go external."

Ryneveld said he called on the RCMP because it is the only force with enough staff to handle so many complaints.

The RCMP probe does not rule out a future public inquiry. But Ryneveld said before taking such a step he must first investigate every complaint.

"The conclusion could be, it's all substantiated, none of it's substantiated, some of it's substantiated. Who knows?"

Pivot executive-director John Richardson is pleased with Ryneveld's decision.

"We asked for a public inquiry. But he has to do some type of investigation first to determine what evidence is there," he said.

"Ideally, it would not be police investigating police. But we don't have that system in place at this point."

The RCMP has a good reputation and is sufficiently distant from the Vancouver force, Richardson said.

But Anton Pilipa, one of the complainants, is not so sure.

"There's a fair amount of overlap between police officers. They share the same world view," said Pilipa, who alleges police choked him for ignoring a roadblock where a film crew was working.

Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham said he will abide by the investigation's findings. "We will implement any changes to make us a better force."

But he could not resist a swipe at Pivot for requesting an independent review. "It's a series of allegations that have been made. The 'shop around until you get the opinion you want' is unfortunate."

Richardson said the fact an external review was ordered shows that Pivot's concern about bias among internal Vancouver police investigators has merit.

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