The case of Ian Bush, who died while in police custody, should lead us all to one inescapable conclusion: The RCMP cannot be allowed to investigate themselves.
The inquest into Bush’s death has given us a glimpse into the unique process the RCMP uses to investigate one of its own. The fact that Mr. Bush was killed is tragic. The way the RCMP conducted their investigation into his death is cause for alarm.
Ian Bush was just 22 in 2005 when he was shot in the back of the head by a rookie RCMP officer in Houston, B.C.
The officer stopped Bush outside the local hockey arena because he had an open beer. When the cop asked his name, the young millworker jokingly gave a fake one.
Bush hadn’t had any serious brushes with the law. He lived with his mom, helped her pay the mortgage and paid part of his sister’s college tuition too.
He wasn’t pleased when Const. Paul Koester arrested him for his small transgressions that night. According to witnesses, the two exchanged words, but there was no hint of violence. Unfortunately, there are no witnesses to what happened next. The two were alone at the station when 20 minutes after they arrived, Bush was killed.
Const. Koester tells it this way: He was releasing the young man when Bush attacked. He wrestled Koester face down onto the couch, lay on top of him and started strangling him.
Koester says he was on the verge of passing out when he managed to reach around to his holster and grab his gun.
He somehow got his arm behind Bush’s head, before slamming his gun into the back of his head three times and shooting him dead.
An independent blood-spatter expert, who is also an Edmonton police officer, told the inquest it would have been “physically impossible” to create the blood stains found at the scene if Koester had been underneath Bush.
He says it’s more likely that Koester was on top, holding Bush down, when the gun went off. That testimony isn’t the only thing that will undermine public confidence in the investigation.
The RCMP gave Const. Koester 18 days to consult his lawyers about his version of events before they got his carefully-prepared statement.
Then, they gave him a further three months before interviewing him about it. And before that, they supplied Koester with a list of the questions they intended to ask. So there weren’t too many surprises.
It’s not exactly the kind of interrogation you’d expect in a case where a man took a deadly bullet in the back of the head. But it is exactly the kind of investigation that the RCMP have become well known for when it comes to one of their own.
Ian Bush is dead. His family deserves the answers that can only come from an independent inquiry into how the investigation was handled. That at least might give them some peace.
The rest of us deserve the peace of mind that can only come from knowing the RCMP is no longer accorded the privilege of investigating itself.
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C’mon Christy, all those years in Port Moody and I can’t remember one critique about the most lawless police force in Canada. Remember your silence when the PoMo police chief blew his brains out at the station? I do.
Well said.
Justice must have vigilance for itself to be truely just.
Unfortunately justice in this case will not be served. The lowlife RCMP who should be discharged is instead enjoying the comfortable embrace of the force as they circle the proverbial wagons.
Scumbag. What goes around comes around.
Better to have prostitutes than unfaithful wives and peccant daughters.
The RCMP has been committing crimes in Canada since its inception. This is an elite group similar to hitler’s SS. They remain unchecked and are accountable only to themselves, how terribly frightening. They are escalating their reign of terror and violence against innocent people and if allowed to continue unchecked will result in more innocent deaths. I would be frightened to death to be in the custody of the RCMP for any length of time, even to be stopped for a ticket. WE are moving closer and closer to a police state. Is that what you want? If so you must be a cop already. Stand up for your individual rights you may find yourself or a member of your family in a similar position oneday.
There was never any justice in this case, since Ian Bush was killed by RCMP Cst. Koesner. From the very beginning, the RCMP spin doctors have done everything to protect Koesner and the image of the RCMP. They have been aided and abetted by corrupt provincial politicians, who instead of ordering a public inquiry into the death of Ian Bush and other civilians who died in RCMP custody. Inspite of previous Coroner’s juries recommending that Civilian Review bodies be established, to investigae the death of civilians at the hands of the police, Gordon Campbell and John Les have totally ignored the recommendations of the juries.
This inaction by the government has only imboldened the RCMP, and has led to the death of Robert Diezkanski and others , in their custody.
How can we possibly believe the RCMP, in view of their involvement in the RCMP pension scandle, the Air Indian inquiry, the Amar Arar case, and the case of Robert Diezkanski?
Gerry
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the rcmp have to be disbanded these cowards no longer serve the people who pay there wages . they are taught at the end of day we must win .yes i know this from someone in the rcmp . this phrase means they will lie cheat or kill you to get what they want .fellow canadains read a book called dispirsing the fog and wake up . look what happened to ian bush and darren varley . the rcmp are the only people in canada allowed to commit murder and answer to nobody. don;t wait till they hurt or kill somebody you know speak out . your child could be next .
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