The men and women of the West Vancouver Police Department welcome today’s release of the second report by Justice Thomas Braidwood into the circumstances relating to the death of Robert Dziekanski.

The report completes the mandate of the Braidwood Inquiry and will be tabled at the WVPD’s Board Meeting in July.

The recommendations from the first Braidwood report into the use of Conducted Energy Weapons (also known as Tasers) has had considerable impact on how members of the WVPD manage and account for their use.

Changes have been made to our Department’s policies as it applies to their use, ongoing testing, and higher levels of accountability in reporting to the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner.

In his second report, Justice Braidwood is recommending for the creation of a civilian-led criminal investigative body to be called the “Independent Investigation Office” who’s mandate would be to investigate those matters where death or serious harm should occur to a member of the public while under the control of the police.

“ I fully support this recommendation and look forward to the creation of the Independent Investigation Office” says West Vancouver Police Chief Constable Peter Lepine. “The day has long since past where the public can be expected to have unequivocal confidence that the police can play an impartial role while they investigate themselves. It matters not what I think , but what the public perceive. The men and women of the West Vancouver Police Department currently enjoy one of the highest levels of public support of any community. I don’t want to ever see a day when this support is compromised because of matters of perception. From my perspective, the sooner the Office is created, the better off the men and women of our department will be”.

Background Note: The call for a civilian led criminal investigative body has also been supported by the BC Association of Chiefs of Police(BCACP), where at their meetings in November 2009, the BCACP called on the Province of British Columbia for the creation of such an investigative unit. As a matter of note, Superintendent Tonia Enger, Officer in Charge of the North Vancouver RCMP, and Chief Constable Peter Lepine of the West Vancouver Police Department form part of the BCACP Executive.
 

Peter A. Lepine
Chief Constable

West Vancouver Police Department
Phone: 604-925-7300

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